


Ionization

by Dtmahanen



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Gen, Pokemon Journey, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sign Language, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dtmahanen/pseuds/Dtmahanen
Summary: Mathilda "Mattie" Kasdan is beginning a pokémon journey in Sinnoh. But there are a couple of weird things about her. One, she's 18, so she's a little out of place in a world of 10-year-old adventurers. Two, she already has a starter pokémon in Yossele, her trusty golett that communicates through sign language.And three? She's got some baggage.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO, AO3!! My name is Dtmahanen, and this is my first Pokémon fanfic...on this site. I have a little bit of experience writing stories, and especially Pokémon fanfic, but I would still happily appreciate any comments - or even criticism - you may have. With that said, I really hope you all enjoy.

The waiting room is cold. Granted, it is 8 AM on a Sinnoh morning, but I feel like the least the Sandgem Laboratory could do is turn the heat up a little. However, no one else seems to mind, so I choose not to say anything.  _Guess I should’ve expected as much, Sinnoh is a cooler region than Unova, but geez, even in the buildings?_  I try to wrap myself further into my hoodie, clawing desperately at any scrap of warmth it brings me. Thankfully, it was made for skiing, so it’s warm enough. Doesn’t stop me from shivering a bit, though.  
  
I feel a tap on my leg. My friend, Yossele, is looking at me. He taps my leg again, with two fingers this time, letting me know he wants to talk. His thick, light blue mud-brick arms move surprisingly quickly for such a heavy creature.  
  
{How are you doing?} he signs. {You look like you are getting sick.}  
  
“Nah, I’m fine,” I response with a sigh. “It’s just been a really long day.” I take another look around the room. There are some other people in the room, most likely waiting for the Professor. This  _is_  the office of Professor Rowan, after all. Most of the others are far younger than I am, probably not even more than ten, eleven years old. Never made much sense to me why most regions let them go on journeys this early. Fourteen is more than early enough.  
  
Although, even  _I_  know that me starting a journey at eighteen is more than a little weird. Guess that explains the odd looks.  
  
“Kinda crazy how many kids are up this early,” I mutter. “How much longer is it until my appointment with the Professor?”  
  
Yossele looks at the clock by the door and holds up one finger. {Not enough time for a nap,} he continues.  
  
“Gonna try anyway,” I retort.  
  
However, I don’t even have the time to cover my eyes with my hoodie before a young woman enters the room. The top of her head is covered by a pink-and-white beanie, while her straight, dark-blue hair falls to about midway down her back. I’d half expected her to wear a lab coat, or something sciency, but she is instead adorned in a fashionable red coat with a short skirt, white scarf, and large pink boats. It looks like she’s trying to be more cute than professional, at least to me.  
  
“Is Mathilda Kasdan here?” she asks. I jerk up in my chair and give her what I hope is a cheerful nod. However, the woman just gives a chuckle, while Yossele lets out a low rumble that I’ve long equated with laughter.  
  
_Real funny, you guys._  
  
“The Professor will see you now,” the woman giggled. “I’ll guide you to his office.”  
  
“Cool, thanks,” I say as I sluggishly get out of the chair, not trying to hide my exhaustion anymore for fear of embarrassing myself more. In front of 10-year-olds, no less! “Mind if Yossele walks with me, or do I need to return him to his Pokéball?”  
  
The receptionist looks at me with a surprised look. “Oh, he’s yours?” she asks. I nod in the affirmative. “Well that’s super convenient,” she continues. “Now we don’t have to worry about a starter pokémon, and we can just skip to the important stuff!” She pumps her fist in excitement.  _How are people so energetic right now?!_  “I think you should be fine keeping the golett out of his ball, the Prof won’t mind.”  
  
“Yay, convenience,” I deadpan. Yossele also gives his approval with a thumbs-up.  
  
I just hope the important stuff isn’t too excruciating.  


 

\-----------------------------

  
It doesn’t take long for the three of us to reach the main office, but when we enter the room, I feel like office is the wrong word for it. It’s actually a rather large room, with some machines and science equipment scattered throughout. What strikes me, though, is that more than most labs I’ve seen, this one has a bunch of bookcases and desks lining the back, reminding me more of a library than a chemist’s playground. Sitting at one of the desks, an older man wearing a brown trench coat and sporting a large grey moustache looks up from the book he’s reading.  
  
“Ah, is it that time already?” he ponders to himself, carefully placing a bookmark in his text. “Thank you, Dawn, I believe I’ll take things from here.” He gets up out of his desk chair and briskly walks over to me, arm extended. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kasdan.”  
  
“Just Mattie, thanks,” I say as I shake his hand. He has an incredibly firm grip, so much so that it almost hurts to hold on. “I take it you’re Professor Rowan?”  
  
“In the flesh, my dear.”  
  
“Funny, I’d always thought you’d be grumpier. You’ve got that reputation back in Icirrus.”  
  
The old man lets out a hearty guffaw. “Oh, they must have seen that old video. That was from years ago, before the Galactic Incident and my dealings with our current Champion.” He sighs deeply. “I’d just about lost passion for my work around then, but it was my interactions with Lucas, alongside the astounding new discoveries made by my good friend Sycamore in Kalos, that reinvigorated me. I’ve been a new man ever since.”  
  
“Oh, you mean the Mega Evolution stuff?” Dawn interjects. “Yeah, that was really interesting.”  
  
“Yes, but we’re getting off track.” He motions toward the desk he was sitting at, and nods at Dawn, who grabs a chair for me to sit on. “You want to begin a Pokémon Journey, and I am in no mood to interfere with such a wish. However, there are some logistics that we need to go over, so I would like to get through that as soon as humanly possible. Please, do make yourself comfortable.”  
  
I’m a little worried when he mentions the word “logistics,” but I don’t see any sort of worry or anger on the Professor’s face, so I assume I’m fine. I sit down in the chair, which is much more comfortable than I thought it would be. Professor Rowan takes out a few sheets of paper, which I assume is my résumé and record, puts on some tiny reading glasses, and starts to peruse my files.  
  
“Let’s see here, your name is Mathilda Kasdan, yes we know that already. You mentioned you were from Icirrus City. Is there any particular reason you decided on conducting your journey here instead of your home region?”  
  
“Eh, no particular reason,” I say with a shrug. “After all the upheaval that had gone on the past few years, I kinda just wanted to get away from that, you know?”  
  
“Quite understandable, although to be quite frank, Sinnoh has had its fair share of nastiness in the last five years as well. Also, is there any particular reason you picked Sinnoh over the other regions? Kalos and Alola, in particular, are quite beautiful, so why pick such a cold and desolate place?”  
  
I can’t help but laugh at his jesting. He’s so different than what I thought he’d be like. It’s such a relief.  
  
I feel like it won’t last long, though.  
  
“Now, for the business of your Starter, normally I would ask you about acquiring one from the League, but considering your friend, here, I would guess that you are not in need of one?”  
  
“Yeah, that’d be the case.”  
  
“Now, how did a novice such as yourself acquire such an interesting first pokémon, if I may be so bold?” he inquires.  
_  
Oh, Arceus, here we go._  
  
“He’s, uh, been part of my family for a while. His name’s Yossele, by the way.” The golett waves his hand, almost on cue. It’s a small relief when Rowan smiles at the pokémon. Yossele, however, is not finished.  
  
{I mostly help out around the house,} he signs. {Every once in a while, I take part in some friendly battles with Mattie’s mother and her pokémon, but for the most part-}  
  
“Oh goodness, goodness, slow down!” Professor Rowan interjects. Turning back to me, he continues, rather astonished. “It’s true that golett are rather intelligent, but I had no idea they could learn to sign!”  
  
“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive,” I respond. “My dad’s mostly deaf, so I sign too, and he picked it up pretty quickly. He’s been a huge help. By the way, did you catch any of that? I don’t know if you sign or not.”  
  
“Unfortunately, I do not,” he admits sheepishly, “but I would surmise that he’s a helper of sorts. Is that fair enough?”  
  
“Yeah pretty much.”  
  
Nodding, Professor Rowan turns back to his notes. He flips to the next page, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch a stamp mark in bold red letters. I recognize this one. It's my permanent record.  
  
_Shit._  
  
“Before you say anything, Professor,” I begin, “let me just say that-”  
  
“Now, now, don’t fret about this too much,” the older man interrupts. “I take it you are worried about the particulars on this page, but I can assure you that I’ve seen this before, and nothing on your record would indict you of anything that would signify the cancellation of your League journey.”  
  
I want to sigh with relief, but I can’t. I know what’s there. I hate what’s there. And from what he’s saying, the League already knows what’s there. I can’t feel good about that, no matter how hard I try.  
  
“Normally, I would not speak with newer Trainers about their records, as once the League approves a newer Trainer, there’s no need. And don’t worry, the League has already approved you as well. You are not in trouble.” He strokes his mustache, looking like he’s thinking hard about something. “However, due to your…rather interesting background, I wanted to talk with you about it personally.”  
  
“Alright,” I say, hesitation making my voice waver. “What did you want to ask me?”  
  
“Well, quite frankly, when I was given your record, I was a little shocked at what I saw. You have a decent home life with respectable parents, your grades in school are good, and you seem like a generally well-put-together person. So, I was caught off guard, that’s all.”  
  
I let out a long sigh. “I know where this is going, Professor. You don’t need to sugarcoat it.”  
  
“Well then, I will be blunt, Ms. Kasdan.”  
  
I brace for it.  
  
“Why would someone like you join the Team Plasma cult?”  
  
The revelation elicits a stunned gasp from Dawn. Clearly she hadn’t known that information before, considering how much it's blindsided her. It shocks most people, learning that good-ol’ Mattie Kasdan was a Team Plasma Grunt. I don’t respond immediately, slowly fiddling with the tips of my bangs, still dyed orange from when I was inducted – no, wait, indoctrinated, more like – into the ranks of the team. I’ve been too lazy to cut it all the way yet, and the tips serve as a constant reminder of my shameful choice.  
  
“I didn’t know what it would become,” I slowly mutter. “I mean, no one did. When I joined, it was just an anti-pokémon abuse group. I was in a rebellious phase, and I’d seen people be nasty to pokémon before, and it just felt like a good way to get the word out at the time. I didn’t…” I hesitate, my voice catching in my throat. “I didn’t know it would end like that.”  
  
“And how could you?” Rowan continues. “According to my research, you joined it a good four months before the Accumula rally even happened. The ‘liberation’ front hadn’t even been revealed yet, correct?”  
  
“Mhm,” I nod.  
  
“Did you ever participate in the rallies?”  
  
“No, I just helped organize. I wasn’t a ‘boots-on-the-ground’ Grunt, I was still going to school. But I wanted to help, so I helped spread the word, get papers in order, that kind of thing.”  
  
“So you’ve never stolen someone else’s pokémon?” Dawn asks.  
  
I look down at the floor. “That’s…I mean, no, I never stole a pokémon for Plasma.”  
  
While Dawn breathes a sigh of relief and Rowan gives a contented nod, I turn to Yossele, who shakes his head. The message is clear. Nothing more needs to be said.  
  
“Also,” Rowan continues, “I noticed that you have a registration in the Icirrus Police database. However, you do not have any arrests on your record. I’m curious, can you explain that?”  
  
“I, uh…” I hesitate for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. “I, kinda, you know, went to the police myself.”  
  
Professor Rowan raises an eyebrow. “So you’re saying you turned yourself in?”  
  
“Kinda, I guess? I mean, it was close to when that crazy castle burst out of the ground, Plasma was getting out of hand, and I didn’t want any part of it anymore. So, I went to the Icirrus Police Department, told them I had info on Plasma, which I did, and I guess it was good enough for them, ‘cause I didn’t get in any trouble.” I let out a sigh. “They  _told_  me it was gonna be anonymous, though. Kinda pissed that they lied about that.”  
  
“I can sympathize. I know I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with the police in my younger years, and they pulled similar stunts to this.” He chuckles to himself, but quickly regains his composure. “Regardless, that is all I wanted to ask about your personal history. It was a strange finding, to be sure, but I am confident that you will still make a fine Trainer.” His face turns deadly serious. “However, I would advise not telling people about that very specific aspect of your past.”  
  
I hold back a guffaw. That’s almost funny, saying I shouldn’t tell anyone I’m an ex-Plasma Grunt.  _It’s not like I’ve been doing that for, oh, I dunno, the past two-and-a-half years, right?_  “I’ll keep it in mind,” I say instead, not wanting to sound mean-spirited to the Professor. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling from his mentioning of “researching” my case that he might’ve had to pull a few strings to let me do this. I silently thank him for that.  
  
“Good, good. Now, because of their involvement with the League, the Gym Leaders have been given your record, as is the case with every new Trainer, so they will know about your past. I cannot speak for everyone, but for the most part, they will more than likely look past it.”  
  
“I hope so.” My legs are getting a little cramped, so I stand up and stretch my arms over my head. “Is that all you wanted to ask?”  
  
“It was indeed,” he responds, also rising from his chair. “Dawn, would you be so kind as to grab a League Card and PokéDex for me? I’d like one more quick word with Ms. Kasdan.”  
  
With a quick nod, Dawn scampers out of the room. She didn’t ask where the professor had placed them, so I assume she knows where they are. However, I’m a bit confused on the PokéDex request. “I thought you already filled out the Sinnoh PokéDex?”  
  
“Oh, that’s not for research purposes anymore,” Rowan counters. “It mostly serves as a helpful reminder of the whereabouts and capabilities of the pokémon in the region. If you choose to travel to other regions, their data is stored in the device as well.” He extends his hand towards me. “If you have one, may I say your PokéGear for a moment?”  
  
“Uh, sure, I guess,” I mutter, taking it out of the center pocket of my hoodie. “Any particular reason?”  
  
“I’d like to give you my contact information, just in case you would like to talk at some point in your journey.”  
  
“…or if something comes up.”  
  
The old man sighs and places a hand on my shoulder. “Inevitably, I know something  _will_  come up. Your past is a part of you, and no matter how much you want to hide it, or how forcefully I ask you to keep it a secret, people will find out eventually. If you ever encounter any trouble, know that I am more than happy to lend a hand.” He smiles. “I know you will make a fine Trainer. In your kindness and fervor towards the well-being of pokémon, I see echoes of Champions in you. Embrace it.”  
  
“I will,” I say, returning his smile.  _I don’t know what my friends were seeing in him, Professor Rowan is pretty nice._  I catch of glimpse of Dawn walking back into the lab, a key card in one hand and a small, rectangular device in the other.  
  
“Here you go,” she says, handing the objects to me. “The card is mostly for ID purposes, so you’ll have to take a picture for it. You can do that at any Pokémon Center. As for this,” she continues, motioning to the device, “your PokéDex comes equipped with GPS, regional data, and a money exchange service for the customary after-battle exchange.”  
  
“Actually, I can just use VenMa for that,” I interrupt. “It’s way more convenient, especially since most everyone has PokéGear these days.”  
  
“Good point,” she continues, “but also bear in mind that some Trainers are a lot younger than you, and probably don’t have full ownership of their bank accounts yet.”  
  
“Right, forgot you let ten-year-olds go on journeys here,” I deadpan. This elicits a snort from the Professor.  
  
{You know, I think he likes you,} I catch Yossele signing to me. {I approve.}  
  
{So do I,} I quickly respond behind my back, taking care not to drop the Dex as I place them in my pocket. {He’s cool.}  
  
“I believe that’s it, then,” Rowan says, shaking my hand one more time. “I look forward to hearing about your many adventures, Ms. Kasdan.”  
  
“Hopefully they won’t be too crazy,” I respond, trying my best not to give him a flimsy grip to shake. After lingering for a moment, I exit the room with a quick wave, Yossele close behind. I let him pass me as we enter the hallway, take a deep breath, and center myself.  
  
“Alright, let’s go. Sinnoh’s waiting for me.”

\----------------------------------

  
CHAPTER 1: Grunt Work


	2. Magnitude of Your Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie deals with jetlag, teaching a new move, and a new thorn in her side. Oh joy.

I’m sitting on my bed in the Sandgem Inn, looking at my newly minted Trainer ID. My picture doesn’t look…awful, I guess. I mean, my hair’s a mess (probably from putting up the hood from my hoodie all day), there are huge black circles under my eyes, and my smile is so goddammed forced it hurts my soul to look at, but…eh, it’s fine. Those things never look good anyway. It’s like a driver’s license photo, they all suck.  
  
I flop down on the bed, dropping the card on the desk by the bedside. My hoodie is getting really hot, so I toss it off as well. Judging by the sudden creaks and grunts I hear moments after, it appears I hit Yossele, who promptly throws it back at me.  
  
“Not in the mood for this, Yosie,” I mumble, “wanna take a nap.”  
  
He taps my bare foot with two fingers. {It’s 2:30 in the afternoon. It’s far too early to fall asleep for the day. I, for one, don’t feel tired at all.}  
  
“Fuck off, man, you don’t sleep anyway. And besides, you were in your ball the entire flight.” I sit up, staring down the now sitting golett. “Jetlag is a thing, you know.”  
  
{I understand,} he responds, {but you  _do_  remember what Dad said about long distance travel, right?}  
  
I sigh, frustrated that Yossele is being such a stickler about this. “Yeah, yeah, stay up as late as you can the first few nights, I get it.” I sleepily slip my feet off the bed. “Fine, you win. Whaddaya wanna do to pass the time before I sleep?”  
  
{Well, we can start by trying to finish learning the new move.} He lifts his left arm, showing off a list of arcane-looking runes etched into his wrist. {I feel like I’m really close on that ground-shaking one. I’ve even got a rune thought out.}  
  
“Oh yeah, you’re right, we  _were_  getting pretty close on Magnitude,” I mutter. “Uh, sure, I guess. Can’t hurt to have more moves in your arsenal in case a battle pops up, right?”  
  
Yossele pumps his fist in excitement and practically jumps to his stubby feet. I can’t help but feel amused at his excitement towards learning a new move. However, my amusement turns to fear when he taps the spiral symbol on his chest, his customary ritual for charging the ghostly energy inside his body for combat. I leap out of my bed and try to restrain him.  
  
“What the hell are you doing, you lunatic?!” I yell. “You’re gonna wreck the room!”  
  
{But I thought we were going to practice,} he says. {Why the change of heart? What’s wrong?}  
  
“Nothing, no, we’re still gonna practice, but outside. We’d be in deep shit if we destroyed our hotel room, and I’d rather not get in trouble the first week we’re here.”  
  
{But Mom and Dad never got  _that_  mad if we practiced at home and broke something. Why is this so different?}  
  
“Mom and Dad were able to pay for the stuff we smashed. And believe it or not, they  _did_  get pretty mad that we broke things. The hotel, that we are  _paying_  to stay at, by the way, will not be so kind.”  
  
{But the hotel owns the stuff in the rooms, right? Wouldn’t they pay for it?}  
  
“Nope. It would come out of my pocket.”  
  
Yossele doesn’t respond immediately. I think this revelation has shaken his worldview a little bit. He’s never really had much interaction with social situations outside of me and my friends, so I can understand why he wouldn’t know this, but I feel like it should be common sense.  
  
He waits a little longer, then quickly claps his hands. {Outside, then.}  
  
“Good choice.”  
  


\-------------------------------

  
Route 202, although not particularly memorable in terms of landmarks, is perfect for a little bit of combat training. It’s mostly open spaces, with a little bit of tall grass dotted throughout the plains, making it a popular spot for beginning Trainers to hang out and have their first battles. As Yossele and I look for a place to practice ourselves, we encounter a bunch of eager kids, clearly just starting their journeys. There are some training with their starters, I think I see a couple of friendly battles going on, and  _Oh Arceus, are those boys playing tag with a group of bidoof?  Arceus dammit, that's adorable._   None of them feel like battling  _me_ , as Yossele seems to intimidate them a little bit, but they’re all  _interested_  in him. They poke his body, grill me on where I got him, it’s a bit overwhelming. By the time I find a nice open spot to practice moves, I actually have a small posse.  
  
“Hey, you might want to stand back a little bit, guys,” I announce to the group of kids. “We’re practicing a new move, and it’s a little bit wild, and I don’t want you to get hurt, so…yeah, might want to take a step back.” The kids, who are already somewhat intimidated by Yossele’s large frame, need no further encouragement. They give us a wide berth.  
  
{So, how did we start this, again?} the golett asks. {I remember working on this a little bit back home, but it’s been a while.}  
  
“It has something to do with your arm engines, right?” I motion to his thick forearms, which house nascent energy cannons within their bulky frames. As a golett, he still doesn’t have full control over them, which is why we’re only attempting Magnitude right now, nor does he have the capability of flying yet, but it’s a start. “I think you were supposed to, like, smack the ground as you fired your arm jets, or something?”  
  
{I’ll give it a try, see how it goes,} he responds. As I back a couple of yards away, he touches the symbol on his chest again, and begins to radiate a ghostly, indigo-colored aura as he powers up. He pumps both of his arms, channeling some of the mysterious energy into his fists like twin shotguns, and quickly slams them into the ground with a loud “bang”. I instinctively recoil, bracing for a miniature earthquake to hit my legs, but I don’t feel anything. When I look back at Yossele, I see that, while he’s made small craters around where his fists hit the ground, not much else happened.  
  
{I think I fired them a little too early,} he says, looking at his smoking hands. {Didn’t time it right.}  
  
“Yeah, other than that, it looked perfect,” I reply. “Let’s try it again, you were close. Maybe wait a half-second more before firing.”  
  
We go about this for about 20 minutes. Each time, I write down the results in my pocket notebook I keep in my hoodie. I’ve gone through many of these over the years, especially when I was still interested in planning Plasma events, but now they serve to document Yossele’s progress in learning new moves. It was a very interesting process learning Stomping Tantrum, especially since Yossele doesn’t usually have those.  
  
“Alright, Magnitude trial number 48…7?”  
  
{It can’t be  _that_  much,} Yossele exclaims, {I only started learning it last week.}  
  
“Ever heard of sarcasm, buddy? One more time, but this time focus on punching the blast into the ground, not just hitting the dirt. It seems like you’ve got the timing down, just not the seismic focus.”  
  
Charging his arms again, Yossele slams the ground, and the results are drastically different. As soon as he unloads his ghostly charge into the earth, I feel an immediate rumbling in the ground, and I start to regret not having us practice near some trees. As the ground cracks beneath me, I jump and dodge around flying pieces of rock and dirt before I feel Yossele’s mud-brick arms surrounding me, protecting me from debris. After a few more moments, the shaking dies down.  
  
“That…was…AWESOME!” I shout, as my fear gives way to adrenaline-filled excitement. I burst out from Yossele’s arms screaming at the top of my lungs, much to the amusement of all the kids still watching me. “I dunno what you did different that time, but I could barely stand up while that was going on.” I take a breath, and take out my notes. “What  _did_  you do differently that time?”  
  
{What you told me and a little extra.} He taps the sides of his fists together, and motions towards the now cracked ground. {I definitely punched inwards, but I also thought it would be a good idea to channel both blasts together, and I guess it made a…} He struggles to find the right word. {A…what’s the center of an earthquake?}  
  
“An epicenter?” I say as I try to think of the motion for signing it. Not remembering it, I make one up, joining my hands together in a ball and shaking them violently.  _I’ll try to remember that one._  
  
{Yeah, that,} he continues. {I guess that was enough to get the earth shaking.} He twiddles his thumbs briefly. {My control over the jets in my arms still isn’t very good, so it might have varying levels of power, but it’s something for a pinch, I’d think.}  
  
“Well, that’s Magnitude for ya,” I reassure him. “It’s always difficult for Ground-types at first, that’s why it’s variable.” I pat his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get a consistent Earthquake in time.”  
  
He gives me a thumbs-up, assuring me that he’s okay with that. I scan the ground, and find a thick branch that I hadn’t seen before.  _Guess even the trees weren’t totally safe. I should probably ask around, see if people are alright._  Before I do that, I hand Yossele the branch. He proceeds to turn it to his left wrist, etching another rune onto his short list. So far, if I remember correctly, he’s got Shadow Punch (that comes standard with all golett), Mud Slap, Iron Defense, and Stomping Tantrum. I’m thinking maybe having him learn Mega Punch next.  
  
“Ms. Trainer!” I see a young boy run up to me, a worried look on his face. He pulls on my hoodie. “I think that attack hit a pokémon. There’s a shinx a little bit away, it looks really hurt.”  
  
“Crap, I was worried about that.” Yossele and I look at each other for a second, and then we leap into action. “Alright kid, show me where it is. Do you have any potions on you?” He nods. “Good, give me a couple of them, just in case it’s very badly injured. Yosie, when we find it, make sure that no one gets near it. We don’t want anyone capturing it when it’s hurt like that thinking it’s free pickings.” The golett nods, then looks at the boy expectantly. He points towards a small patch of woods –  _probably where the branch came from_  – and begins to lead Yossele there. “Is anyone else hurt, human or pokémon?” I ask the rest of the Trainers. Most trainers shake their heads or murmur “No,” which is a relief.  
  
I sprint over to where the kid took Yossele, and see a very strange sight. The golett, potion in hand, is being shooed away by a boy, about my age from the looks of it, with shoulder-length blond hair and small, angry blue eyes. He’s moving his arms frantically, but his face, weirdly enough, is wearing a sort of grin. He seems to be guarding the shinx, its black-and blue body curled up in a little ball as it mews softly in pain.  
  
“Back away from the shinx,” he yells, “it’s really hurt! No one get near it!”  
  
“Hey, you its Trainer?” I say, running up to a very confused Yossele.  
  
“Well, no, but-”  
  
“Then let me handle this,” I continue, showing him the potion in my hand. Yossele holds one up as well. “If you’re just gonna shoo people away, you’re not helping.”  
  
“But, but,” he stammers, “you’re just going to catch it, right? You’re totally gonna exploit its injuries and ‘add’ it to your team, aren’t you?”  
  
I look at him, eyes wide with shock. I know that line of reasoning way too well. “That’s…that’s the exact thing I’m trying to prevent,” I respond. “I don’t want it to get hurt anymore.” I turn to the golett, pushing the crazy thought out of my head. “Yosie, try to get close. Slowly, like I taught you. Try not to scare it, and maybe apologize a little bit.” He nods, and starts to approach the kitten. His gentle rumbling and slow, methodical hand motions seem to calm the shinx, as its whines get much quieter. He strokes its fur as he sprays the contents of the potion bottle on its wounds and bruises.  
  
{It’s going to need more than this to get back to full strength,} he signs to me. {We should take it to the Pokémon Center, let it recover.}  
  
“Well, let’s see what it thinks,” I say as I approach the shinx myself. I take that into account as I attempt to talk to it. “Hey, little guy,” I say as I try to pet it. It's definitely hurt, as I see nicks and cuts all over its body, and he's injured enough where, even if I wanted to catch him, most Trainers would just let it be, but the wounds are healing rather quickly due to the potion serum. No broken bones, at least. He shrinks away at first, but, seeing that I mean him no harm, he lets me touch him. “You feeling alright? Can you move?”  
  
As if to answer my question, the shinx gingerly tries to stand, positioning its hind legs under it. While it still looked hurt, it seemed like it could move easily, so I let it run off into the woods. {Just pain, nothing super serious,} I sign to Yossele. {He'll be alright.} As I see it fade into the distance, I turn my attention to the boy who’d accosted me earlier.  
  
“Okay, what the hell were you trying to pull there?” I exclaim. “I get the feeling you didn’t trust me for a second when I was, y'know,  _helping_  that shinx. What’s your deal?”  
  
He glares at me like I’d just flipped him the bird. “The only reason you let it go was because I was there. I can see it in your eyes, you  _wanted_  to catch that poor, helpless creature. Why else would you hurt it so badly?”  
  
I stand there, stunned at the sheer idiocy of the words I hear coming out of his mouth. “Okay,” I respond, slowly, to make sure my words penetrate his skull, “first of all, fuck off with assuming why I was helping that shinx. I didn’t know he – the shinx was male, by the way, don’t call him an  _it_  – I didn’t know he was there until after some random kid told me he was hurt. Which leads me to my second point, which was, why the hell would I have Yossele use an area-of-effect attack, which he’s not totally proficient with, by the way, to  _specifically_  attack a shinx that I didn’t know was there? That makes no goddamn sense.” I take a long, drawn out breath. “And third, how do you get off saying that  _all_  Trainers would exploit wild pokémon like that? There are so many good Trainers out there, and generalizing about them is really fucking awful. That’s something only assholes would do, and to be quite frank, something that a member of Team Plasma would say.” I pause for a moment. “You Unovan?”  
  
“Born and raised in Mistralton, Miss Know-It-All,” he responds in a very, ironically, know-it-all fashion.  _Well, that would explain it. Tons of Plasma sympathizers there._  “I happen to think that Plasma may have been on to something in their message.”  
  
“Including the part where they steal people’s pokémon?”  
  
“Hey, that’s completely unfair, they only stole from pokémon abusers!”  
  
“Bullshit, you know full well they ambushed people and mugged them for their pokémon. There were even some reports that some Grunts around Icirrus stole wallets and cash along with Pokéballs.”  
  
“That’s…that’s…” He hesitates, clearly at a loss for how to respond to my overwhelming evidence against him. “You don’t know that! How can you know that?”  
  
“Trust me, I know.” I don’t have the heart to tell him that it was actually former Icirrus Grunts that I worked with who mugged innocent bystanders. In front of me, no less. Not a fun experience. I think that was part of what made me want to quit, actually. “Look, I’m gonna leave now, make sure you didn’t try to convince these kids to give up their pokémon. See ya later, N wannabe.”  
  
“For your information, my name is David Paulson!” the guy yells. I remember that the Paulson’s were a very rich shipping company based in Mistralton.  _Maybe had Plasma connections? Eh, no idea.  
_  
“Cool. I’m Mattie Kasdan. Now fuck off.” I turn to walk away, motioning for Yossele to follow. As I see him catching up to me, I notice David’s body twitching with what I presume is pent-up anger. I don’t give it much thought.  
  
Until he starts speaking, a grin once again spreading on his face.  
  
“Battle me.”  
  
I turn back to him. “What?”  
  
He stands up straighter, looking as cocky as he was while blocking the shinx. “You’re gonna battle me, and I’m gonna embarrass you in front of all these people, and then you’re gonna admit to me that I was right. Then, just because you gave me the idea, you’re gonna release that golett right there, and you’re gonna walk away.”  
  
I stand there, trying to process what he just said. Then I start laughing. The rumbling to my side tells me that Yossele is laughing too. “You can’t be serious,” I giggle. “You – you do realize that you sound like a hypocritical dumbass right now. Like, a Plasma sympathizer, willing to get a pokémon hurt? Dude, you sound so much like the Plasma from a year ago it hurts.” I calm down again. “And by the way, that’s the Plasma that wanted to take over the region,  _not_  the ones with a noble pretense. So, no, I’m not gonna battle you, you’re a fucking hypocrite, and now I guess I have more reason to check on the other Trainers.”  
  
Before I can turn away, however, David grabs a Pokéball from his belt and throws it in my direction. As the ball breaks in two, a small, greenish-blue creature emerges from the white light bursting forth from the device. Its green eyes and glowing fingers sporadically light up and dim as it stares at us, tilting its head out of…curiosity, I guess?  
  
“An elgyem, huh?” I mutter. “Yep, straight out of Mistralton, that one.”  
  
{He probably spends all his time brooding in the Celestial Tower,} Yossele continues. {It would explain his strange behavior.}  
  
“If you call yourself a Trainer, Mattie Kasdan,” David pontificates, “then you have no choice but to battle me! Isn’t it common practice for two Trainers, locking eyes, to do battle?”  
  
“Yeah, see, that’s how it works in the  _video games,_  buddy. Those games, by the way, are  _hot garbage_ , and you should be ashamed of yourself. IRL, nobody does that. I don’t have to battle you if I don’t want to, and I don’t want to. So, once again, goodbye.”  
  
As I turn to leave…again… David desperately searches for anything more to say. At last, he says, “Are you scared of facing me, you coward? Are you that scared of someone like me hurting your precious pokémon, or worse, your pride? Do you think that little of your golett?”  
  
“No, I think that little of you. Now do as I say, and FUCK. O-”  
  
I stop as I look over at Yossele. He’s weirdly still, save for his hands, which are lightly tapping the glyph on his chest, as if he's powering up for a fight.  _He only gets like that when he’s mad, something’s up._  {Hey, you alright?} I sign to him.  
  
{I'm going to fight him.}  
  
My eyes widen in shock. “Wait, what was that?” I say aloud.  
  
He turns his head to me. {He called me weak. But more than that, he insulted you. Worse, he used  _me_  to insult  _you_. You are not going to stop me, so let me fight him.} He points at the boy, almost ignoring the elgyem entirely.  
  
“Arceus dammit,” I sigh. I turn back to David. “Alright, you’ve ticked off Yossele, so, you win. We’re gonna battle. You happy?”  
  
He sneers at me. “Very.”  
  
“Fine. Let’s get our wagers ready, then.” David gives me a weird look. “The wager,” I continue. “You…do know that most Trainers put some money on a battle, right? Trainer etiquette? Common practice?” I pull my PokéGear out of my hoodie. “We can do it over VenMa, if it’s easier.” I return his smirk. “That is, if you’re not worried about your pride.”  
  
The look of anger on his face is almost beautiful. I can sorta see some veins popping out of his forehead, and his cheeks are as scarlet as a Cheri berry. “1000 PB,” he growls.  
  
“Deal.” We both stand back, letting our pokémon approach each other. We’re in a small clearing in the woods, so there’s a nice little area for the two fighters to move around in. The younger trainers from before, who had been listening to our little exchange, gather around our makeshift arena when they realize a battle’s about to start, mumbling to themselves. From what I overhear, they don’t like David very much.  
  
“Alright, Yossele, let’s end this quickly,” I instruct. “Normally I’d be worried by the long-range capabilities of most Psychic-types, but you’re super strong already. Concentrate on getting close.”  
  
{Right.} He cracks his knuckles, shedding bits of extraneous mud-brick substance that had built up since his last battle. {This elgyem is a novice. I can tell from the way it’s blinking its comm lights. For a pokémon of my power, this should be easy.}  
  
Much to David’s surprise, Yossele puts his fists up to his face, angling his body slightly sideways and putting his left foot at the front of his stance. I smile. It’s a unique element of this golett’s fighting style. It always catches people off-guard the first time they see Yossele put up his dukes like a boxer.  
  
The first rune on his wrist lights up. A wave of ghostly energy envelops both of his hands, and he clangs them together before resetting his stance. I know that signal.  
  
Yossele is ready to kick some major ass.  
  
“Elgyem, don’t let it hit you!” David calls out. “Use Confusion!”  
  
A wave of pinkish energy slams into Yossele’s frame, causing him to wobble slightly. His stance never wavers, however, as he moves his back foot to regain his balance. I hear his rumbling laugh at the pitiful attack. Barely even a dent.  
  
“Move up to it, Yosie,” I command. “Quick as you can. Try to avoid getting hit, but if that’s all your opponent has, you got this.”  
  
Nodding, Yossele slowly begins lumbering toward the elgyem, the ground quaking with every step he takes. Panicking, the elgyem begins emitting a harsh, staticy sound that makes the golett visibly wince. “Yeah, nice Growl, Elgyem!” David shouts. “Now hit it with another Confusion!”  
  
“Get out of the way, Yossele!” I shout. In sync with my command, the golett quickly loads his arm jet and blasts a blank round to his side, moving him out of the way of the psionic wave. He unloads another blast to put himself back on track, and puts himself within striking distance.  
  
“Uh, uh, get out of the way, Elg-”  
  
“Grab it!”  
  
Yossele shoots out his left hand, latching onto the elgyem’s large, cylindrical head. The alien-like creature begins squirming around, trying to break free of the golett’s grasp, to no avail.  
  
“You said you’re mad, right, Yosie?”  
  
He nods.  
  
“Alright then. Stomping Tantrum, let’s go!”  
  
Yossele proceeds to slam the elgyem into the ground, venting its anger as he repeatedly bashes its body with his thick arms. After a moment, he stops, and the elgyem weakly floats off the ground again. It looks towards its Trainer, practically pleading David to end the battle. Yossele turns his head to me. {I think it wants out,} he says.  
  
I nod. “I think your elgyem’s had enough, David. Stop the fight, and forfeit with your dignity intact. I’ll let you walk away.”  
  
However, David angrily continues shouting at his pokémon. “Now, while its back is turned! Use Confusion to, uh, push it away or something!”  
  
The elgyem lets loose yet another ray of pink light, yet although this one hits Yossele, he doesn’t look even remotely phased. His shoulders sag, resigned to the inevitable conclusion.  
  
“Yeah, I know buddy,” I mutter. “I didn’t want to do this either. Shadow Punch.”  
  
Almost faster than I can give the command, Yossele decks the elgyem with a devastating right hook, his hand coated in a purplish, ghostly flame. The elgyem careens into a nearby tree, floating to the ground limp and unconscious.  
  
“You lose, David,” I say, approaching him. I can feel a grim look spreading across my face, but I don’t even care at this point. “Take your elgyem to the Pokémon Center and get it looked at. It should be fine in the morning.” I look at him, and I don't feel much. I think, though, that I feel some semblance of disappointment. "This was stupid, David. Don't try that again, or you'll seriously hurt your pokémon."  
  
I’m right up next to him now. He’s about my height, but skinny, almost gaunt-looking. His eyes are almost wild with anger, even hate. “You’ll see me again, Mattie Kasdan,” he hisses, almost slamming our PokéGears together as he initiates the customary money transfer. “I’ll be stronger, and you’ll be the one whose pokémon are lying in the dirt. You’ll see.” He scrambles over to his elgyem, picks it up, almost cradling it like a newborn child, and runs off towards Sandgem.  
  
I sigh deeply, rubbing my eyes out of frustration and exhaustion. My jetlag is catching up with me again. I feel an arm on my shoulder. {Let’s get back to the hotel, alright?} Yossele suggests.  
  
Nodding, I begin to trudge in the direction of Sandgem, Yossele following close behind.  
  
 _I really hope not everyone else in Sinnoh is like this._


	3. Nibbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jetlag sucks, and Mattie's feeling it bad. How will that impact her run-in with another new person? Especially one with such a rambunctious friend?

Chapter 3: Nibbles

 

I can’t sleep. I need to sleep, but jetlag’s killing me, and the Jubilife traffic is murder on my ears, even at night. I’d arrived earlier that evening, since I really didn’t want to be around Sandgem anymore after yesterday’s stupidity, and rented a room at a cheap hotel. Apparently “cheap” actually means “paper-thin walls.”  _Arceus, this is just like fucking Castelia._  I wrap my pillow around my ears, trying to block out the wail of car horns, screeching tires, and –  _are people shouting at each other?!_  
  
“Shut up, it’s 2 in the fucking MORNING!” I wail. No one hears me but Yossele, who’s resting at the foot of the bed. He turns to me and signs something. “Can’t see it, buddy, it’s too dark,” I mutter, burying my head in the pillow again. He quietly walks over to where my head is resting. There’s a soft glow to Yossele in the darkness of the room, a common trait in the golett line. I think it’s so they’re able to find each other in their native home of the Dragonspiral Tower, but it’s hard to say for sure. At any rate, I can see him a little more clearly now, so I can understand him.  
  
{I was trying to ask if you were alright,} he repeated, {but I think that answers the question.} He kneels next to me, placing a hand on my side. {Do you need something? I can go to the front desk and ask for something. I will write it down so I won’t need to sign.}  
  
“Think I just gotta walk a little,” I mutter. I roll out of my bed, nearly falling on my face, and pull on my hoodie and a pair of jeans. I’m about to leave the room when Yossele taps my side. “WHAT?!” I yell.  
  
He’s holding my belt.  
  
“Oh, uh…sorry, Yosie,” I mumble apologetically, groggily looping the brown leather belt along my waist. “Thanks. Sorry for yelling.”  
  
{You want me to come with you?} Yossele asks. {I am worried about you.}  
  
“You always are,” I respond, patting his head sleepily. “Sure, why not? Let’s have a night on the town.” I thrust open the door, not really thinking about controlling my voice (or what I’m saying). “Just you and me, two weirdoes from Unova who don’t know what the FUCK we’re doing!”  
  
I’m about to keep yelling into the hallway when someone sticks their head out of their door. “Hey, can you keep it down?” the boy asks, his curly black hair a mess in front of his face. “People are trying to sleep right now.”  
  
My cheeks feel very hot.  _Arceus dammit, I’m an asshole._  “Sorry, I’m being stupid,” I respond. “Did I wake you?”  
  
“Surprisingly, no,” the boy laughs, placing his hand on the back of his neck. “I just forgot to take my melatonin, so I couldn’t sleep, and I lost track of time reading.”  
  
“Wait, what’s a melatonin?” I ask sleepily.  
  
“It’s medicine that helps you sleep. It’s not a sleeping pill, per sé, but it’s, like, a pill that gives you an extra dose of your natural sleep hormone to help you sleep better. It’s totally natural, so you don’t have to-”  
  
“So it helps you sleep?” I interrupt. “’Cause if it is, can I have some? Need to get rid of this fucking jetlag somehow.”  
  
The boy sighs. “I shouldn’t give you some, because my mom would kill me if she knows I gave people pills without a prescription – because she’s a doctor, and doctors get kinda anal about that – but these are mostly okay. Here, I’ll cut you a deal.” He holds up a hand, basically signaling for me to wait, leaves for a second, and comes back with a small bottle filled with tiny orange pills. “I’ll give you a normal dose of melatonin, just for tonight. Sound good?”  
  
“Sure, I guess.” I clumsily walk over to him, and he gives me one little orange pill. “Is this gonna be okay?” I ask skeptically.  
  
“Yeah, it should,” he responds. “Hope it works, I guess.” He gives a little wave, and closes the door behind him. Nodding, I turn to go back to my own bedroom.  
  
Where I see Yossele with my PokéGear in his hands, a red light shining near the screen.  
  
“Why’re you recording me, Yosie?” I ask, popping the pill into my mouth and swallowing.  
  
{You will see tomorrow,} he says, walking over to the door and plopping himself in front of it. He always does this, acting like a living barricade. {Get some rest.}  
  
I nod, throw my hoodie on the floor again, and basically fall onto my pillow.  
  
And this time, after a couple of minutes, sleep comes easily.  
  


\----------------------------------

  
“Holy SHIT, how stupid was I last night?!”  
  
{Very stupid, thank you for asking.}  
  
I’m watching the video that Yossele recorded last night, and I don’t whether to be mad at myself for being so idiotic, or maybe just disappointed. The footage is embarrassing to watch.  _Did I seriously learn nothing about situations like this from being a woman in this Arceus-damned world?_  
  
“It’s, like, what if that had actually been  _drugs_?” I continue, facepalming as hard as I can. “What if, Yosie?”  
  
{Well, I would have punched him,} he responds, showing a strange sort of calm as he says this, {and then I would have taken you to a hospital, and then, after you woke up, I would slap you for being stupid.}  
  
“Yeah, yeah, please, go on and tell me how stupid I am again.”  
  
{You were being very stupid, though.}  
  
“I  _KNOW_ , THOUGH!”  
  
I suddenly hear a knock on the door. My cheeks get really hot when I realize what that must’ve sounded like. “I…should probably get that,” I mumble as I get the door.  
  
The boy from last night is waiting outside, a thick pair of glasses I didn’t notice before resting on his nose. His hands are in his pockets, and I notice that his pockets are pulsing in and out, like his hands are tapping inside them.  
  
“Uh…hey,” I say, feeling a little awkward. “You been standing there long?”  
  
He lets out a little laugh. “Nah, not really,” he says. “Heard a little bit, though. I take it you were talking to the golett,” as he motions to Yossele, who is standing close to me with his arms crossed.  
  
“Yeah, but I probably sounded a little nuts, didn’t I?” I joke, feeling a little better that he didn’t actually think I was crazy. “He signs, so we were actually talking, just to clarify.”  
  
“Fair enough.” We both let out some awkward chuckles, and then let a somewhat uncomfortable silence fall between us. The boy takes a breath. “I…actually wanted to apologize for last night. That was totally sketchy of me, just offering literal pills to someone who was clearly zonked out of their mind from exhaustion, and I don’t want to come off as creepy to you. So…I’m sorry.”  
  
“Hey, we both acted badly last night,” I say with a slight giggle. “You coulda come off as creepy, I was acting like one of those dumb girls in the shitty PSA’s you see in health class.”  
  
“Oh, you mean the ones where the teachers try to shame you into never going out with your friends?”  
  
“That’s the one.”  
  
We both break into fits of nervous laughter, the tension dissipating from the room.  _We were both being weird and stupid last night. Nothing happened, and we both feel bad, so let’s just forget that happened._  
  
“So,” I continue, “in my exhausted stupor, I never introduced myself last night.” I extend a hand. “My name’s Mattie Kasdan.”  
  
“Blake Franklin,” he responds, giving it a vigorous shake, his darker-skinned hand nearly enveloping mine. “Good to actually meet you when we’re not both zonked out from exhaustion.”  
  
I’m about to respond, but an acute rumbling in my stomach stops me in my tracks. Thinking back on it, I didn’t have all that much for dinner last night, and my digestive tract is not letting me forget it.  
  
“Hey, could we move the conversation to the breakfast area?” I ask. “I’m starving.”  
  
‘Uh, sure, I guess. Don’t really have that much else going on right now.” He backs up from the doorway. “You bringing your friend along?” he asks, motioning to Yossele.  
  
“Yeah, but he doesn’t need anything,” I respond. I wave at his head. He doesn’t move from his accusatory stance. “No mouth.”  
  
“Got it,” Blake laughs. “So, shall we commence with the eating?”  
  
“Yes, let’s.”  
  


\----------------------------------------

  
Breakfast is quiet and awkward. Clearly both of us still feel weird about what happened last night, but there’s more to it than that. Yossele’s always been a little distrusting of people he doesn’t know that well, and the incident with the Plasma wannabe and what happened last night aren’t helping matters. He barely moves throughout the meal, his unmoving yellow eyes boring into Blake as he eats. Needless to say, there’s not much talking.  
  
When Blake gets up for seconds, I feel a tap on my leg.  
  
{I find this whole situation odd,} he says. {He gives you pills, then wants to have breakfast with you? I find it hard to trust someone like that.}  
  
{I get that,} I sign back, {but I kinda feel bad. I probably disturbed him last night, and at least he’s trying to be nice instead of chewing me out.}  
  
{Just keep your guard up, please?}  
  
{I think this guy’s gonna be okay, Yosie. I’ll be careful, but he’s not David. Or Vera.}  
  
As I’m speaking, Blake returns, this time with a huge plate of bacon and sausage. “Uh, are you gonna eat all that?” I ask. “That’s a lot of meat.”  
  
“I mean, some of it’s for me,” he says, taking a bite out of a bacon strip, “but most of it is for my buddy.” He reaches down for his belt and grabs a Pokéball of his own. I raise my eyebrows. The ball itself has a grey top with blue knobs protruding in a circular formation. I recognize this as a Heavy Ball, from the Johto Region. “Breakfast time, Ally,” he says, tossing the ball.  
  
A brown, lizard-like pokémon with a huge head and white collar scruff emerges from the ball, arching its back and stretching its gaping maw in a very visible yawn. It takes a moment, sniffs the air, then leaps onto Blake’s lap before ramming its face into the plate of meat. After practically swallowing every atom of food and licking the plate clean, he turns to Yossele and me, letting out a few barks and grunts.  
  
“Mattie, meet Ally,” Blake exclaims, scratching the ridge above the tyrunt’s eyebrows. “He’s been my friend ever since I unearthed him a few years ago. He’s a bit feisty, especially in the mornings.” As he’s saying this, Ally jumps off of Blake and runs over to Yossele, where he wraps his jaws around his arm and begins to lightly…chew on him. “Oh, and he nibbles new people.”  
  
“I, uh, I can see that,” I say as the tyrunt moves to me. The “nibbling” actually didn’t hurt at all, as Ally didn’t seem to have a lot of teeth save the canines in front. The jaw muscles felt very strong, though, and I couldn’t help but think that he could probably snap my leg in half if he chomped down hard enough. “You from Johto?”  
  
“Wait, how’d you know?”  
  
“You summoned Ally out of a Heavy Ball. Aren’t those, like, only made in Johto?”  
  
“Good catch,” he laughs. “Yeah, I’m from Blackthorn. I dug Ally up when I was goofing around in the Shimo Caverns, and revived him in Pewter when my dad went there for work.”  
  
“Wait, what’s the Shimo Caverns?”  
  
He gives me a confused look, and quickly facepalms. “Right, you’re probably not from Johto, considering the golett.”  
  
“Unova, actually,” I say. “Icirrus.”  
  
“Got it.” He sighs heavily. “Yeah, that’s the local name for the Ice Path. Sometimes forget that people don’t call it-”  
  
“Ow! Ow, that’s a little too hard,” I yelp as Ally bites a bit more firmly on my leg, breaking the skin a little.  
  
“Hey! Ally, come back, you’re hurting her,” Blake commands. Ally, hearing his friend’s order, rushes over to his side, where the Trainer gives him a light smack on the snout. “You gotta stop doing that, nibbles,” he jokes, “I just met her.” He gives the dinosaur one more poke on the snout before putting the plate back on the table.  
  
“Dude, just because he hurt me doesn’t give you any right to hit your friend,” I remark. “How do you think he feels about that?”  
  
“You know, I can kinda see where you’re coming from,” Blake responds, “but to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how much he even felt it.” He rubs Ally’s snout. “Tyrunt have very tough skin, especially on the snout. Honestly, I didn’t really hit him, just let him know that it’s not okay to bite people.” He gives me a strange look. “Have you never had to do that before?”  
  
I’m a little taken aback. That looked a lot like a slap to me. But when I look at Ally, I don’t see a look of fear or resentment on his face, but rather one of acknowledgement. I don’t have the ability to hear the voices of pokémon like Lord N does, but it’s written pretty clearly on his face that the tyrunt doesn’t view Blake’s actions as all that harsh. In fact, almost as soon as Blake stops talking, Ally starts nibbling on  _his_  leg.  
  
“Heh, he’s pretty relentless,” I say, trying to change the subject. “Kinda like the family purrloin when she was teething.”  
  
“I’ll say,” Blake says. He chuckles, and his face suddenly lights up. “Hey, I know this is a bit random, but after we’re finished, do you want to have a battle?”  
  
He’s right, it  _is_  a bit random. However, the second that he says the word battle, Ally’s eyes grow wide, and he starts snorting rapidly, almost in anticipation.  
  
“Your friend certainly looks up to it,” I say. Looking to Yossele, I ask, “You up for a battle?”  
  
He crosses his arms, his foot tapping in contemplation. {I will allow it,} he responds. {Maybe seeing how he interacts with his friend in battle will show how trustworthy he is.}  
  
(Definitely worth a shot,} I sign back. “Okay,” I respond verbally, “I’ll take you up on that offer.”  
  
“Awesome! Let’s meet outside the hotel, there’s a good courtyard not too far from here.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
  


\-----------------------

  
Thankfully it isn’t too difficult for us to get a waiter’s attention, and within half an hour, we’ve gotten the check and left the building. We’re outside in a wide-open park. There’s a children’s playground not too far from us, but it’s a school-day, so not many people are outside. Yossele is cracking his knuckles, loosening his joints for the bout ahead, while Ally is pacing near his Trainer, snapping his jaws in the air, almost like he’s trying to catch some invisible bug.  
  
“Do you want to have a wager on this,” I ask Blake, “or is this just for fun?”  
  
“Eh, I don’t really feel the need to bet money on this,” he responds. “This is, what, your first battle in Sinnoh.”  
  
“Second, actually, but the first guy was a total asshole. But sure, no money on this one.”  
  
“Fair enough.” He places his hand on Ally’s snout. “You ready, buddy?” The dinosaur gives a loud snort in response, digging into the soil with his foot.  
  
“Alright, battle number 2, Yosie,” I say to Yossele. “What are you seeing from Ally?”  
  
{He looks strong,} he responds. {These two seem far more experienced than David and his charge were.} He leans forward. {The jaws are well-developed, but his legs are toned and look pretty powerful. He’s likely going to be much faster than me.}  
  
“Well then, we’ll just have to outlast them. Think you can do that?”  
  
The golett slams his fists together and assumes his stance. {Let’s see.}  
  
“Ready when you are, Mattie,” I hear Blake exclaim.  
  
“Alrighty then.” I see Yossele’s hands flare with ghostly energy.  _Time to go._  “Hit him hard and fast. Shadow Punch!”  
  
The rune on Yossele’s fist flares as he launches himself towards his opponent, his jet-arms adding to his speed.  
  
“Ally, heads up!” Blake yells.  _A little too late_ , I think.  
  
However, just as Yossele is about to slam into the tyrunt’s snout, his jaws, almost faster than my eye can process, envelop the golett’s fist, latching onto his arm. Yossele begins to squirm, trying desperately to pull his arm from the dinosaur’s maw, going as far as to expel some jet energy in an attempt to escape.  
  
“Right where you want him, buddy! Bite attack, let's go!”  
  
The tyrunt’s teeth begin to glow, and he begins to…chew on Yossele’s arm. It looks strange, but the attacks are clearly hurting the golett, judging from the high-pitched screeching coming from its body.  
  
“Shit, that’s not good. Yossele, try to knock him off with a Stomping Tantrum!”  
  
Upon hearing the order, Yossele lifts the tyrunt into the air, only to repeatedly slam him into the ground in an almost petulant display of rage. Between the slams, I notice that he’s also inserting spare Shadow Punches with his off hand in a desperate attempt to dislodge Ally from his arm.  
  
Clearly it isn’t having an effect, as his grip was as steady as ever.  
  
“Ally, Ice Fang,” Blake commands. “Keep up the pressure!”  
  
I can almost hear a chuckle coming from the tyrunt’s jaw. On cue, a thin layer of ice begins to coat his teeth, and he begins chewing again with renewed vigor, even quickly snapping the jaws open and shut to deal more damage.  
  
_Wait…_  
  
“Yosie, find an opening to escape his-”  
  
“Ally, slam the golett to the ground and Stomp him to keep him there!”  
  
As if reading his Trainer’s mind, the tyrunt uses his powerful maw to flip Yossele onto the ground, and roughly slams his foot onto the golett’s crest, preventing him from using his legs, all the while continuing to chomp into Yosie’s arm.  
  
I think he’s had enough.  
  
“Yosie, can you go any longer?” I plead. In response, the golett lightly uses his free hand…  
  
To tap Ally’s snout in surrender.  
  
“Alright, that’s enough, bud. Let him go.” To my surprise, Ally complies quickly, releasing Yossele from his iron grip. I rush over to my fallen friend, potion in hand. As I look over at Blake, I see a potion in his hand as well, spraying his friend with the rejuvenating substance.  _Well, at least Yosie got a couple of licks in._  
  
“How you doing, buddy?” I ask as I kneel down next to him.  
  
{My assessment stands,} he weakly signs. {He’s strong.}  
  
“Clearly.”  
  
There’s a momentary pause as I begin to spray Yossele with the potion, thankful that he isn’t totally out cold. Unlike with the battle with David, this bout went the way that they normally should, with both fighters still conscious.  
  
{There is trust.}  
  
“What was that?” I ask.  
  
{The tyrunt. Ally. He clearly trusts his Trainer. It’s very different from what I saw with David and his pokémon.} He looks up at me. {I’ll trust him too.}  
  
“Good to know.” I turn to Blake as I help Yossele to his feet again. “Hear that, pill boy? Yosie trusts you now.”  
  
“I read you loud and clear, Mattie,” he laughs. He pats Ally on the shoulder. “I’m impressed. Your Yossele’s pretty good.”  
  
“I dunno, I get the feeling that Ally had me beat from the start.”  
  
“Yeah, but that Stomping Tantrum very nearly turned the tide." He points to Ally's jaw. "I don’t know what you saw from your perspective, but it looked to me like your friend almost ripped a tooth out. That’s stupidly impressive."  
  
{As should be excepted from someone of my power,} Yossele signed.  
  
“Of course,” I whisper to the golett. Turning back to Blake, I continue, “Being serious, it takes a lot to get Yossele to trust someone, and especially considering last night, you’ve definitely proven yourself to the both of us.” I give Yossele a look. “If it’s all the same to you, would you want to stick around? Yosie and I were gonna head to Oreburgh soon, and I think it’ll be nice to go with other people.” I turn back to Yossele, who gives me a curt nod.  _He’s not against it._  
  
“Actually, I was gonna ask the same thing,” Blake says. “I figured you were going to Oreburgh if you really are just starting out, and Oreburgh Gate has been a little tricky for a bit. Safety in numbers, and all that.”  
  
“Couldn’t agree more.” I reach out my hand, and Blake reciprocates with a nice, firm handshake. “Let’s rest our pokémon for a bit, maybe head out later. Late afternoon sound good to get moving?”  
  
“Sounds good. Meet back here around 3:30?”  
  
“We’ve got a plan.”  
  
As we start to head back to the hotel, exchanging numbers as we walk, I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It’s Day 4, and I’ve actually met someone nice.  
  
I’ll take it.


	4. Rockslide at the Gates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie and Blake are on their way to Oreburgh City. But the road ahead is difficult and treacherous, especially recently.
> 
> It's a reality Mattie knows a little too well.

Chapter 4: Rockslide at the Gates

  
  
It’s interesting. I’ve done a little bit of work cleaning up the Castelia Sewers before – part of a community service thing summer after sophomore year of high school, was kinda boring – and I’ve seen zubat before. They flit around in the darkness, live in nests all over the place, and are surprisingly cute if you can get past the screeching and their apparent lack of eyes.  
  
But a swarm of zubat, flying right in your face? Whoooooole different story.  
  
“Arceus, these things smell awful!” Blake yelps, his arm held in front of his mouth and nose to prevent any of the creatures from flying into his mouth. “Mattie, should we be worried? Do they give rabies?”  
  
“No, that’s the woobat line,” I respond, also covering my mouth, “and even then, it’s only like, .5% of all woobat or swoobat.” I look over to the fox-like creature floating next to Blake. “But yeah, they stink like shit. If you’re so worried, maybe tell your kadabra to put out the light? You’re kinda disturbing them.”  
  
“Copper, extinguish Flash.”  
  
Almost immediately, the small glowing orb atop the kadabra’s spoon flickers out, leaving us in the now much darker Oreburgh Gate. The swarm of zubat around us slowly dissipates, revealing the tunnel ahead.  
  
And it’s still light enough to see.  
  
“You know, I’m starting the think we didn’t need Flash,” Blake mutters, under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear. “It’s not much further until Oreburgh proper, just another half hour or so.”  
  
“Nice.”  
  
“Planning on taking on the Gym Leader?”  
  
“I mean, I guess, if that’s something Yossele wants to do.” I turn to the golett, walking beside me with a dim glow about him. “You interested?”  
  
{The little bit I saw of Trainers in Icirrus, they looked like they were enjoying themselves,} he signs, pumping his fist. {Let's try it. It would be nice to get stronger.}  
  
“He’s interested,” I say to Blake.  
  
“I mean, I figured as much.” Blake laughs. “Well, just as a heads up, the Gym Leader’s tough, especially on newer Challengers.” He fumbles with his pockets, producing a small black case with a gold trim. Opening it, I see a couple of pins on the inside, one brown and one green. “Believe me, I’d know. I faced him myself a couple of months ago.”  
  
“Honestly, I’m not that surprised,” I respond. “Ally barely had to move to beat Yossele in their battle, and Yosie  _had_  mentioned that he looked pretty experienced.”  
  
“Aw, you shouldn't have. When did he say that?”  
  
“He signed it to me before the battle.”  
  
“Course he did,” he chuckles. “Might need to start learning to sign myself, might be able to hold a meaningful conversation with your friend.”  
  
“Hey, it couldn’t hurt, right?” We both laugh a little at that. “That mean you’re sticking around?”  
  
“For a bit,” Blake shrugs. “You’ve gotten me motivated to restart my own Challenge again, so I’ll probably stick around for your battle with Roark, then I'm heading off to Hearthome.” He tosses a Heavy Ball from his belt, summoning Ally from the ball. “My little dinosaur has been itching to taste some ghosties.” Ally nudges Blake’s hand in approval, then starts running back and forth in excitement.  
  
“Aw, but we just started the trip. And you’re kinda the first friendly face I’ve met since the Professor, and I was hoping you’d stick around.”  
  
For some reason, this elicits a hearty laugh from Blake. Yossele and I look at each other, just  _super_  confused as to what’s so funny. As we turn back to look at Blake, his laughter slows, as a curious look stretches across his face. “Oh, you weren’t…oooooohhh, okay, okay.” He chuckles again.  
  
“Okay, I’m really confused, what’s so funny?”  
  
“Nothing, nothing,” he says. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m that far ahead of you, just two badges. You’re a very competent Trainer-”  
  
“Yeah, from the one battle you saw of me.”  
  
“-yeah, but you definitely showed some good smarts. You’ll catch up with me soon enough.” He pauses, an impish grin on his face. “You want some tips?”  
  
I snort. “Look, I’m still not sure if I’m even doing the-”  
  
I feel a large hand in my pocket as Yossele fumbles around in my hoodie. He brandishes my journal in front of my face, and I don’t even need to see him sign to know what he’s thinking.  
  
“Okay, so clearly we’re doing the Challenge,” I continue, slightly giggling as I snatch the book from him, “so yeah, tips away.”  
  
We both start cracking up at that, and I feel like a little bit of the tension is released. However, before he can start to regale me on the details of his battle, I hear another rush of zubat, this one sounding slightly more frantic than the previous one. They’re heading towards something near the other entrance to the Gate. I look at Blake, shrug, and start to follow the noise. And from the footsteps I hear behind me, I’m pretty sure he’s following along.  
  


\----------------------------

  
Due to us not being swarmed by the zubat this time, Yossele seems to have a little conversation with some of the flock as we walk towards our destination. He lets me in on some of the more interesting tidbits. I’ve always found it very fun to have Yosie translate PokéSpeech for me. I’ll never be able to speak directly to pokémon like Lord N could, but this is the next best thing, in my opinion.  
  
{Apparently, there was a bit of a cave-in further ahead,} he paraphrases. {It disturbed their nest, and they’re a little scared.}  
  
“Oh geez, that’s not good,” I mutter. Blake gives me an expectant look. “Cave-in, just ahead,” I tell him.  
  
“Yeah, not totally surprising,” he responds. “You remember when I said the Oreburgh Gate has been sketchy recently? Apparently, there’ve been more than normal.”  
  
“That’s really not good, Blake. What’s causing it?”  
  
“No idea. Roark and the Oreburgh Mining Company have been looking into it for a bit. I actually asked Roark about it after I battled him.”  
  
“Really? That’s interesting.”  
  
“Hey, he and his dad, Byron, are part of the reason I came to Sinnoh in the first place. They’re fossil people, like me. I was gonna ask them about-”  
  
He stops in his tracks. “Yep, there it is,” he says. I give him a look, and try to make out what he’s seeing. Ahead of us is a huge pile of rocks and stone.  _This must be the cave-in._  A man with shoulder-length red hair is pacing back and forth by the rubble. And by the rocks, I can barely make out…  
  
_Is that a shoe?_  
  
“Oh no,” I mutter. “No, no, no, not again. Yosie, move!” Without a second thought, the two of us sprint over to the rubble. The figure turns towards us, a concerned look on his face.  
  
“Hold up, hold up!” he shouts, “take a step back! We have a kid trapped under there, and-”  
  
“I can see that,” I breathlessly interject. “We need to do something, right?” I look to Yossele. “We can help, trust us, we’ve dealt with this kind of thing before-”  
  
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” the man responds. “I’m glad you want to assist, but this is a delicate situation. I’m not sure how badly the kid’s hurt, but I have reason to believe that they’re trapped and unable to move.” He pauses to take a breath. “Now, I’ve dealt with cave-ins before, so I have a plan of attack. I’ve already asked another Trainer I found to go get help. If  _you_  want to help, the best possible thing for you to do is let me do my job.”  
  
“You can trust him, Mattie,” I hear Blake say as he runs up to the two of us. “That is Roark, after all.”  
  
I’m not even hearing what they’re saying at all. Maybe it registers in the back of my mind that a Gym Leader’s addressing me, but honestly, I’m not even sure how much I care.  
  
I just see Koby.  
  
I just see his body buried under rubble outside the base of the Dragonspiral Tower. Out in the open air for all to see. I just see the limp, twisted remains of my friend, flattened by the unleashed power of Plasma’s scheme. His uniform torn, legs and arms broken, neck snapped. All because Plasma wanted the legendary dragon.  
  
And I only knew he was there because of his fucking shoe.  
  
“Yossele, get rid of the rocks!” I order. “Quickly, we don’t know how much they’re-”  
  
“Miss, we have things under control, there’s no need to-”  
  
“How can you say that, there’s someone trapped in there, we need to-”  
  
“CALM DOWN!”  
  
I feel two rough, gloved hands grip my shoulders. They shake me a little. I stop, but in the back of my mind I’m squirming, racing to think of some way to do something to help. The hands hold me still for a moment. I feel like fighting them. My breaths are shaky. I think I’m crying. I look up into the face of the person holding me. I guess it’s Roark, seeing as he’s the only other person here. His dark, burgundy eyes are dead set on me, steely and steadfast. He’s wearing a helmet with a lamp (that’s turned off, thank Arceus), and his face is dirty and grimy with soot. His look isn’t one of anger or frustration, but one of determination.  
  
“I need you to be calm for a second,” he says. He pauses, keeping a firm grip on my shoulders. “Can you do that?”  
  
I can't really respond in any meaningful way, but I feel myself beginning to settle down. My breathing slows, I'm not as shaky as before, and while I'm definitely still crying, I have the wherewithal to wipe my eyes.  
  
“Are you okay now?” he asks. I can feel my voice catch in my throat, so I just nod in response. He sighs, then continues. “Look. It’s great that you want to help. Admirable, really. But freaking out like this will help no one. In fact, stunts like this are liable to get people killed in the mines.” He sighs, but again, it’s not frustrated. It’s more…knowing. “And besides,” he continues, “considering where we are in the gate, it’s a pretty safe bet that they aren’t even close to dead.”  
  
I recoil at the statement. “What do you mean?” I stammer, finding my voice again.  
  
He lets go of my shoulders and walks over to the rockslide. He taps the rubble pile with a pickaxe. “More than likely, the kid’s alive, just trapped. They’re still in danger, don’t get me wrong, but we can be rational.” He taps the rubble a little more forcefully. “Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?”  
  
I don’t expect a response. How could I? It’s small, but it’s still a rockslide. How can I help feeling a little hopeless when I see this?  
  
But then I hear a voice.  
  
“I can’t move my leg. A rock’s on top of it. I think it’s broken.”  
  
As soon as I hear the voice – a young woman’s voice, from the sound of it – it’s almost like a dam breaks in my chest. I can breathe again. “How is...what is even...” I mutter, completely incredulous at her being alive.  
  
“Take a look,” Roark says, pointing to the wall. I take a look, and there’s a huge, sort of, cavern dug into the wall. It’s about the size of a crouching person, and something like 4 feet deep, with steel rods supporting it. And, most notably, it extends across the entirety of this portion of the wall.  _How did I not notice this before?_  
  
“We’ve had rockslides for a long time,” Roark continues, “even before I got the job. Blame the machines in the mines, blame erosion, whatever, they happen. So, my predecessor, Opal, she had the brilliant idea of constructing a crevice where people could hide. She spared no expense: calling in teams of diglett from Kanto and Alola, engineers, architects, the works.” He walks up to the crevice and motions to the pylons. “They even installed a walkie-talkie system into the pylons just to make sure people who were too trapped to move could get help. It’s how I learned about this particular accident in the first place.” He sighs and walks up to me. “And thankfully, it seems the Trainer in question is awake. Now we can try to help.”  
  
He looks at both me and Blake –  _Arceus, I practically forgot he was there_  – and starts giving out instructions. “I remember you from before. Blake, right?” He nods. “How’s your abra doing?”  
  
“He evolved,” Blake replies, motioning to Copper. “He can use Telekinesis pretty effectively, too, if that’s any help.”  
  
“Actually, that’s perfect,” Roark says. He turns to me. “You said you’ve worked with rockslides before. Has the golett?”  
  
I nod. “He’s with me. At Ic-” I pause, taking a deep breath to steady myself. My nose is completely clogged, so I sniffle a bit. “At Icirrus, we get them every once in a while. Always need people and pokémon to clear the rubble. Yossele’s done his fair share.”  
  
“Good to know. That’s good, because I’d rather not bring out my rampardos. He’d clear the rubble, sure, but he might start more slides afterwards.” He looks to Yossele. “You’re heavy, so don’t climb to the top of the rubble. Focus on removing debris from the front and sides.”  
  
{Of course,} he responds, rushing over to the rubble pile. Roark looks surprised for a moment, but shakes his head and focuses on Copper. “I’ll need you to catch any debris that starts to move and shouldn’t. You can do that, right?” The fox-like creature nods his head, the spoon in his hand enveloped in a dull blue glow.  
  
“Alright, then, let’s get her out of there.”  
  


\--------------------------------

  
The work is slow. Roark, experienced as he is, seems to understand how tricky an operation like this can be. He’s meticulous, constantly checking on the specific rock that Yosie is handling, or which part of the slide Copper needs to support, and often checks on the girl trapped under the rubble to see how she’s doing. After a bit, I wander up as well, and talk to her myself. Her name’s Diana. She’s trained here for years, but this was the first incident that she ever saw herself. Her friend Curtis was the one Roark had sent for help before. I reassure her that we would get her out of there as soon as we could.  
  
When I introduce myself to her, however, a strange look overtakes Roark’s face. Again, it's a knowing one, but also one of interest. I brush it aside and keep working.  
  
Nothing comes of it for another 15 minutes or so, as we’re all focused on the rockslide. After a good amount of effort, Yossele and Copper both find the rock that’s pinning Diana to the ground. With their combined efforts, the boulder is removed, and the Trainer’s able to move again. Granted, she can’t put any weight on the foot, but Blake gives her a shoulder to lean on.  
  
“I’ll take her to the hospital,” he says, recalling Copper to his ball. He smiles, but gives me a concerned look. “You gonna be alright? You were freaking out a little.”  
  
“Dunno.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just glad she’s safe.”  
  
“Me too. I’ll see you later. Still gotta give you those tips.”  
  
I nod as he walks off with Diana. The eastern entrance to the Gate isn’t far from where we are, so they’re out of the cave quickly.  
  
I feel a gloved hand on my shoulder. “Good work,” Roark says, “and thanks for keeping your cool. From your initial reaction, I can tell you haven’t had the most pleasant experiences with these things.”  
  
“Yeah.” I look down. “A friend of mine d-…he just…Arceus dammit,” I mutter, tears rolling down my face again.  
  
“It’s alright. Rockslides suck. They’re sudden, deadly, and completely unpredictable. There was nothing you could’ve done.” He gives me a stern look. “However, and I really hate to do this when you’re in a state like this, but I wanted to talk to you for a bit.”  
  
I sigh. “Right. You’ve probably figured out who I am by now.”  
  
“Mentioning Icirrus, your companion is a golett? Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re Mathilda Kasdan.”  
  
“I go by Mattie.”  
  
“Fair enough.” He gets up and walks over to the scattered rubble. “I’ll be the first to admit, when your application came through to the League, I was a bit surprised. It’s not every day that someone who used to be a member of a gang - especially one with the notoriety Plasma had - goes on a journey. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, there were some people among the League who thought you had ulterior motives. Most everyone, including me, were on your side, but there were a couple of people who didn't even want you in the region, let alone journeying here.”  
  
“Real nice of them.”  
  
“Sorry, just being honest. I was always on your side, to be clear.”  
  
"Sure."  
  
There’s silence for a bit. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a tough thing to hear that a League Member didn’t want me here, but it’s not exactly something I didn’t expect.  
  
“The rockslide from before,” I continue. “It’s part of the reason I quit, you know.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Plasma caused it. When they summoned zekrom, the explosion of power knocked some rocks loose from Twist Mountain. My friend Koby, who’d also joined, was patrolling the outside.” I pause. I feel the tears start to flow again. “I only found him two hours later.” I look over to Yossele, who’s still busy clearing out the rubble. “It’s the first time I ever used Yossele, now that I think about it. I didn’t have any pokémon on me, so I grabbed the first Pokéball I saw on another Grunt’s belt, summoned him, and dug.” I let out a short laugh. “Never returned him.” I look up at Roark. “I didn’t join Plasma for the liberation bullshit. Because it was always pretty bullshit. I joined to help pokémon that were being abused and misused by assholes, not to separate people and pokémon entirely.”  
  
Roark nods, a smile on his face. “Good to know.” He approaches me. He extends a hand. “The holdouts'll figure it out, though.”  
  
I look at him confused. “What do you mean?”  
  
“The fact is, you rushed in to help a person who was hurt without knowing a thing about them, let alone asking if it was their fault, or if they injured any pokémon in the process. If that’s not a sign that you’re a good person at heart, and actually care about people, I don’t know what is.” He smiles. “And the fact that you taught your golett to sign is kinda the icing on the cake.”  
  
“My dad’s deaf, it makes sense.”  
  
{So’s mine,} Roark signs, much to my shock. “It just shows me that you don’t view pokémon as things to be coddled,” he continues verbally, “but rather as intelligent creatures that deserve respect.”  
  
“So you trust me now?”  
  
“Enough to battle you, should you be interested in the Gym Challenge.”  
  
{She is,} Yossele intervenes, {but that’s not important right now.} He taps me on the leg. {There's a pokémon in the rubble, and it looks hurt.}  
  
“There is?” we both say simultaneously, my voice nearly catching in my throat at the thought of someone else trapped under rocks. I feel myself freaking out again, and I sprint over to the pile of rocks.  
  
A zubat is pinned underneath a small boulder. It’s struggling, so at least it’s not badly hurt like that shinx was, but its left wing looks like it’s stuck. Yossele is keeping his distance, looking a little unsure how to proceed.  
  
“Did Diana have a zubat?” I shakily ask Roark.  
  
“No, just a bibarel, pachirisu, and roselia last I checked,” he responds. “She’s kind of a regular visitor to the Gate, I see her pretty frequently. It sucks that it was her that was hit by the rockslide.”  
  
“You mind if I help the zubat?”  
  
“Go right ahead.”  
  
I take out a potion and slowly approach it. Unlike the shinx from a few days ago, this zubat doesn’t shrink away when I reach out to him. He must be more used to people than a lot of wild pokémon in the area.  
  
“Hey, you mind if I move this rock?” I ask the little bat. I can’t understand the screeches, but I assume he’s okay with it, and a glance at Yossele nodding his head gives me all the confirmation I need. I gingerly move the rock off of his wing, waiting to see how he reacts. After a moment of him testing the wing, he tries to take off, but he’s a little off balance due to the injuries and flops back onto the ground.  
  
“Hold on, little guy, you’re still hurt!” I yelp. “Here, this should help.” I spray the potion onto his wing, and the wounds quickly seal up. The zubat tests the wing again, and it seems to function a lot better. Overjoyed, he practically leaps off the ground and flits around my face. “Okay, okay geez, you’re welcome, stop, stop!” I stammer while giggling to myself. I lose track of him pretty quickly.  
  
“Seems like you made a friend, Mattie,” Roark quips, a small smile on his face. “Maybe you could consider taking him along, show him the world.”  
  
“Arceus, I couldn’t do that, I just wanted to help him out,” I respond. “It’s just common decency to do that when a pokémon’s hurt. He’s probably already flown back to the nest.”  
  
“Check your left shoulder.”  
  
A little confused, I glance to my left, and almost do a double take. The zubat is perched there, flapping his wings to keep himself stable on my shoulder. He looks pretty funny, trying to balance on my shoulder without any legs.  
  
“Um…” I’m at a bit of a loss. “What…should I do in this situation?” I look at Roark, sort of pleading with my eyes for any help he could give.  
  
“Catch him! He wants to join you on your adventure.” He chuckles to himself. “What, did you think you were only gonna travel with your golett the whole time?”  
  
“Uh…kinda, yeah. Still feel weird about the whole catching thing. Don’t have any Pokéballs.”  
  
Roark starts laughing hysterically. “Okay, now that’s funny.” He grabs a small red-and-white ball from his belt and tosses it to me. “First one’s free,” he continues, “but from here on out, you’ll need to buy your own.”  
  
“O…kay.” I look at the zubat again. “You sure you want to come with me?” He vigorously nods his head in the affirmative. I turn to Yossele. “You good with having another companion?”  
  
He nods, letting out a small rumble. {As long as you're alright with it, I'll be fine.}  
  
Seeing this expression of approval, I gingerly press the button in the middle of the ball, expanding it to its full size. Almost faster than I can process, the zubat taps his wing onto the button. The ball opens at the seams, much to my shock. I accidentally drop the capsule with a yelp, which emits a bright red light which envelops the zubat. The light retracts into the ball, which closes on its own.  
  
And starts to shake. Once.  
  
Twice.  
  
Thrice.  
  
And a click.  
  
“Congrats, Mattie,” Roark says. “You just caught your first wild pokémon.” He places a hand on my shoulder. ‘How’s it feel to take the first real step towards being a Trainer?”  
  
“Weird, honestly.” I reach down to pick of the Pokéball, gazing at it. I press the button again, releasing the zubat –  _wait, I have to name him, don’t I, dammit, naming Yossele was bad enough_  – and watch him start to fly around Yossele.  
  
“You’ll get used to it, don’t worry.” He smiles. “You don’t have to catch very many pokémon. Many Trainers don’t. But you seem to bond pretty quickly with pokémon, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple more latch onto you like this zubat did.”  
  
“I wish I could be happier about it,” I sigh, “but maybe that’s just the Plasma Grunt talking.”  
  
“Does Blake know?”  
  
“No, and hopefully I can keep it that way. For a while, at least.”  
  
He gives a thoughtful nod. “Smart move. Lots of bad memories of gangs in Sinnoh, good thinking keeping it under wraps. Let’s get to Oreburgh, see how Diana’s doing.” With that sobering warning, he starts walking towards the exit.  
  
And I, with my slightly larger posse, follow.  
  
---  
 


	5. Recovery Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie recovers from her traumatic experience in the Oreburgh Gate and begins training for her first Gym battle. But first, she has to learn what her newest friend can do.

I’ve always been a fan of those hotels that have showers with a seat in the back. Don’t have to stand up, perfect for when I’m feeling lazy.  
  
Or, you know, not totally alright.  
  
After my talk with Roark, I’d gone to the hospital to check on Diana. Her lower leg was pretty shattered, and it was likely gonna take a few months for her to fully recover. She was a little hopped up on anesthesia, but was awake enough to thank me for the help. I remember putting on a brave face, but I couldn’t shake Koby from my head, so I felt queasy the whole time. I couldn’t stay for long without thinking I was gonna throw up.   
  
When I checked into another cheap hotel for the night, I practically threw all my stuff onto the bed and barreled straight into the shower. I needed to wash off the dirt and grime, sure, but I also just needed to shut myself away from people for a bit. I turned the water on super hot and just kinda sat there. Curled up into a little ball and everything.  
  
I’ve been in there for a while.  
  
I hear a pattern of knocks on the bathroom door through the rattling of water on the floor and screen. I sigh a little, not really wanting to leave the steaming little box I’m in. I know I have to, though, or else Yosie will just come barging in. He still hasn’t perfected those kinds of social cues yet.  _It’s been three years; you’d think he’d figure it out by now._  I turn off the water, wrap a towel around myself, not really bothering to dry my hair that much, and exit the bathroom.  
  
{You feeling better?} Yossele asks as I emerge. {You were in there for a while.}  
  
“Yeah, better,” I say. “Not good, but better.” I get dressed, not bothering to put on my hoodie or socks –  _really don’t feel like going anywhere right now_  – and grab my PokéGear. Roark had given me his number as I was leaving, and I want to thank him for not being weird about it. He answers pretty quickly.  
  
“Hey, uh, how’re you doing, Mattie?” he asks. “I can’t see you, are you at a hotel?”  
  
“Yeah, sorry about the lack of picture. I kinda look like shit, so I turned it off.”  
  
“Very fair.” I can see him clear as day. He’s changed out of his mining uniform, wearing a crimson polo tee. From the look of the room he’s in, he’s not home, but rather in a locker room of sorts.  _Maybe he just checked out for the day._  “So, listen, you were thinking of doing the Gym Challenge, right?”  
  
“Yep, sounds about right.”  
  
“Well, that’s good, since I scheduled you in for a Gym battle in about 4 days. That alright with you, or do you need a little more time to recover?”  
  
“Oh right, forgot you need to sign up for these things,” I mutter. “No, it’s alright, sounds fine.”  
  
“Cool. Now, you’re gonna have to sign up on your own for the rest of the Challenge. I just thought that with everything that happened, and since I met you early, I thought I’d slot you in myself.  
  
“That’s nice of you.” I pause for a second, trying to think about anything other than this afternoon. I feel a tap on my shoulder.  
  
{Ask him for tips,} Yossele signs.  
  
“Wait, what?” I mutter.  
  
{Blake was going to assist us, wasn't he?  Now you can ask the Leader himself. It’s even better than-}  
  
“Yosie, I can’t ask the Gym Leader for tips on how to beat him, that’s totally cheating!”  
  
I hear some muffled laughter from the other side of the line. “That’s pretty cute. Can the golett hear me?”  
  
Yossele’s about to respond, but I verbally reply, “Yeah, he totally does,” before signing, {You know he can’t see us, right?}  
  
{I'm sorry, I forgot.}  
  
“Anyway,” Roark continues, “you’re right, I can’t give you any tips about the battle itself, per se, but I can give you some advice. Namely, you can visit the Gym beforehand and work with some younger Trainers.”  
  
“Oh  _right_ , Gym Trainers!” I chuckle. “So that’s what they do.”  
  
“Yeah, and through them you’ll be able to figure out how to fight my type of pokémon, namely Rock-type.”  
  
“Will I be able to see the arena?”  
  
Roark lets out a hearty belly laugh. “Oh please, I’m not that stupid. Can’t have you seeing all my tricks, can I?”  
  
“Guess not.” I feel myself laughing along with the Gym Leader. Whatever he’s doing, he’s definitely helping me out of my funk, and I secretly thank him for that. Yossele slumps in his seat, disappointed that his idea wasn’t a good one. “So, do I just go into the Gym and find a Trainer?”  
  
“There’s a guy at the front, he’ll help you out. There are a couple of Trainers available every day, so I can guarantee that you’ll get your tips.”  
  
“Any zubat-friendly Trainers?” I ask with a chuckle.  
  
“I’m sure you’ll find someone,” Roark says. “Listen, I gotta go to sleep, have a long day tomorrow. I’m looking forward to our match.”  
  
“Me too.” I pause for a moment. “Before you sign off, uh…I need to thank you. For earlier. I was acting reckless and stupid. Thanks for being the sane one.”  
  
“Any time,” he replies. “Believe me, I know some people who’ve reacted far more rashly than you did in this kind of situation. I can understand if you’re in a weird place for a bit, and really, that’s why I scheduled you when you did. I’ve found that being with pokémon helps people with reactions like yours recover. Myself included.”  
  
“I…I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Who was it?”  
  
“I’d rather not talk about it.”  
  
“A friend?”  
  
“Co-worker. He was under my watch. Triggered a cave-in.” He sighs. “Wasn’t that long ago. My pokémon helped me dig him out. And grieve.” He gives me a smile, even though I know he can’t see me. “They understand so much more than we give them credit for. Don’t be afraid to lean on them.”  
  
“I’ll try to remember that,” I say. As I switch off the PokéGear, I’m feeling a lot more relaxed than I was even a couple of minutes before. I flop onto my bed and summon the zubat from earlier. He flits around the room for a couple of seconds, clearly getting a rise from flying annoyingly close to Yossele’s head, before plopping next to me on the bed. I tentatively reach over and scratch him behind his ear. He’s surprisingly fuzzy, and leans into it, clearly enjoying the attention.  
  
“You need a name,” I mutter, somewhat surprised how easily this this mindset is coming to me.  _Roark’s right, I_  am  _getting used to this_. “Hm…Yosie, I’m torn. Can I get your input on names?”  
  
The clay golem turns his head to me. {Do you have any in mind?} he asks.  
  
“I’m thinking either Johnathan or Abraham. Which fits better?”  
  
He tilts his head in confusion. {Why those names? They’re far more human-like than the one you gave me.}  
  
“Yeah, but they’re names from a cool story. Jonathan’s the protagonist, and Abraham’s the really smart mentor character.” Yossele still looks confused. “It’s a vampire story,” I clarify, “it’s perfect.”  
  
I hear Yossele rumble with laughter. {I don’t have an opinion on vampire stories, so you go ahead.}  
  
“Cool, thanks for the help,” I sarcastically chuckle. I grab the zubat and gently hoist him in the air, holding him above my head. He doesn’t fight it. “What do you think about Jonathan, buddy?” He flaps his wings and gives an excited squeak. I look over to Yossele for a translation, and he gives me a simple thumbs-up.  
  
“Alright, Jonathan. Welcome to the team.”  
  


\-------------------------

  
The next morning, Blake meets up with me outside the hotel. He seems pretty relieved that I look okay, and is glad to that I’m still interested in the Challenge. I tell him about my conversation with Roark from last night, and he immediately starts to lead me to the Gym.  
  
I’ve never been inside a Pokémon League Gym complex, so I’m a little surprised at the décor. The walls are lined with interesting-looking layers of rock, and I think I can make out some fossils imbedded into the walls. Some of them don’t actually look like pokémon, which is super intriguing.  
  
“Hey, Mattie!” I turn around to the sound of Roark approaching me. He’s wearing a clean version of his mining uniform, with a clean set of black-and-red boots on his feet. “Sorry for the normal guy not meeting you at the front, he called in sick today,” he continued.  
  
“No worries, just admiring the walls,” I respond. “What kind of fossils are those?”  
  
“Wait, wait, I got this one!” I hear Blake reply. “That one right over there,” he continues, pointing to one with a wing-like arm, “is some form of pterodactyl. They were vastly more varied than ancient pokémon in terms of size, and often competed with pokémon like aerodactyl and the archen line for food. Many of them had beaks, and those that did mostly lived near the sea and hunted for fish and marine pokémon.” He pauses, taking a breath. “Roark, correct me if I’m wrong, but this one’s a quetzalcoatlus, right?”  
  
“Yep, right on the money,” Roark adds. He gestures over to the both of us. “If you take a look at the neck, there’re some punctures and marks, but not teeth marks. More than likely, since I unearthed this one on the coast, this quetzalcoatlus was killed when dealing with a carracosta, or something similar.”  
  
Both of them pause for a second, and give me an odd look. “You’re…okay with us rambling like this?” Blake asks. “Like, you’re not annoyed or anything?”  
  
I shrug. “I mean, why would I? It’s interesting, and you two were getting into it, so who am I to stop you?” I laugh. “However, those two…” I motion to Yossele and Jonathan, who are not even paying attention to any of us. Jonathan, in particular, is slumped on Yossele’s head. “I think  _they’re_  getting a little bored,” I continue.  
  
“Fair enough,” Roark responds. “I’ve got a battle in a few, so I can’t stick around much longer, but I’ll get Darius for you.”  
  
“Oh yeah, he’s super cool,” Blake continues. “Actually, if I remember correctly, he has a dwebble, so he’d actually be good for working with your zubat on dealing with Rock-types.”  
  
“Oh, that’d be sick!” I exclaim. “Hey Jonnie, you ready to start training the human way?” The little bat practically slams into my shoulder in excitement, but somehow manages to perch, albeit somewhat precariously.  
  
“Alright, then. Let’s get to work.”  
  


\-----------------------------------

  
We’re in a side room of the Gym, and my assigned Trainer, Darius, is shocked. And, I mean, who wouldn’t be pretty stunned to see a full-grown onix get flattened by a barrage of Shadow Punches? But that’s what happens. He tells me not not hold back when showing off what Yossele can do, and Yosie obliges. It takes a bunch of hits, but the onix is down for the count. Not unconscious, mind you, but definitely not able to fight anymore.  
  
Yossele, meanwhile, is not much worse for wear.  
  
“That’s…scary,” he mumbles, fidgeting with his faded blue cap. “I mean, Blaster’s pretty used to facing strong Trainers, but your golett is nuts.” He puts his cap back on. “Not gonna lie, it’s kinda awesome.”  
  
“Aw shucks, you shouldn’t have,” I joke. “Think he can take the Gym all by himself?”  
  
“Oh Arceus, no!” he laughs. “I’ve been doing this for a while, but Roark and his rampardos are nuts, too.” He goes over to help Blaster recover. “Don’t get me wrong, I think your golett would do pretty well against the rampardos, but against another pokémon before that? No, he’s gonna need help.”  
  
“Dammit,” I mutter, “that’s not good.”  
  
“What’s up?” he asks.  
  
“I’m just…” I hesitate.  _How do I word this without hinting at my Plasma…y…ness?_  “I mean, I just caught Jonnie, and I’m worried that him facing a Gym pokémon – and a rock-type, no less – as his first battle would get him hurt, or make him hate me.”  
  
“I wouldn’t worry about that so much,” Darius says, “but if it would make you feel better about it, we could pit him against my dwebble or your golett in a non-battle situation, just to kinda see what he can do.” He nods at the notebook in my pocket. “You look like you’re a bit more tactical than some Trainers I’ve seen in the past, so this would be right up your alley.”  
  
I stare at him for a second. “Y’know…that makes a lot of sense.”  
  
“Did you think you were gonna solo Roark with just Yossele?”  
  
“I mean, maybe…”  
  
Darius lets off a hearty laugh. “Yeah, we get that sometimes. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out what your zubat can do.”  
  
Jonathan, who’s been exploring the Gym while we were talking, lets off a screech when he realizes that we’re done talking and flies in our direction. He flits around my head, letting off occasional chirps as he revels in the attention. I think I’m starting to realize why he connected with me so quickly.  
  
He’s a little bit of a diva, and he liked that I gave him attention back in the cave.  _That's actually super cute._  
  
“Hey, Jonnie, look at me,” I say, grabbing him from the air and holding him in my hands. “This Gym is gonna be tough for you. I need you to be aware that, more than likely, these pokémon are not gonna play nice.” He calms down at my words, seeming to understand the implications of what I’m saying. Being cute like he’s trying to do won’t get him very far in a Trainer battle. “Now, I want to see what you can do technique-wise, and we can formulate a strategy here, but I’ll need you to be cooperative and attentive to my instructions. Can you do that?”  
  
There’s a pause. I’m aware it’s a lot to take in, but he needs to hear it. Thankfully, Jonathan seems to get it, and gives a stern nod.  _He’s adopting human mannerisms pretty quickly. Is this normal? Have to ask Professor Rowan.  
  
_ “Alright, let’s get started.” I rip my notebook from my coat pocket and unclip my pencil from the binding. “Yosie, could you load up an Iron Defense? You’re gonna be a target for a bit, and I don’t want to hurt you while we’re just training.”  
  
As he nods, a dull, fiery aura begins to form around Yossele’s body. As it spreads, it begins to coalesce and form a layer of ghostly blue around his bulky frame. He slams his fists together, then assumes his stance.  
  
 _Yeah, I can tell why people would be a little scared of him._  
  
“Don’t worry, bud,” I assure Jonathan, “he’s not gonna hurt you. I just wanna see what you can do.” I put pen to paper. “Alright, Yossele, do a bunch of Stomping Tantrums to simulate fighting. Jonnie, fly around his fists, show me your speed.”  
  
It’s interesting. Yosie’s never done something like this before. He’s only ever trained by himself to learn a new move, and he’s always aimed to hit. I’m completely resigned to an accident happening and Jonnie getting hurt.  
  
And yet…  
  
The zubat’s tiny frame effortlessly dodges around Yossele’s bulky arms. No matter how close the golett gets to slamming into Jonnie, he’s always a step behind. There are times when it feels like he’s deliberately getting in the way of a fist, only to dart away at the last second. I know that I asked Yosie to miss, but this is interesting. I carefully write this down.  _Jonathan is_ fast.  _And completely fearless.  
  
_ “Okay, let’s try something, Yosie. Try to hit him. Not too hard, but make contact.”  
  
Almost immediately, Yossele begins to move. Punches come more rapidly, he starts moving around our platform with his arm jets, and he starts adding Shadow Punches into the mix, creating a deadly combo that would otherwise overwhelm an opponent. I’ve seen him do this very thing against my mom’s druddigon, Goliath, and although we’ve never won against her, we’d always get  _damn_  close when he did this. And he  _does_  make contact.  
  
But only brushes. Little nicks. Jonathan is too fast. He’s still dodging and weaving, to the point where he’s practically taunting Yossele.  
  
Quite frankly, I’m fucking impressed.  
  
“Alright, stop! I’ve seen enough.”  
  
And they do. Yossele puts down his fist, only raising a hand to give me a slow thumbs up. Jonathan, meanwhile, slaps the thumb with his wing before flying over to Darius and me. He flits in front of my face, and I don’t need Yossele to tell me what he’s thinking:  _How’d I do?  
  
_ “That was really good, Jonnie,” I say, “I’m impressed. You alright with doing a little more, or do you want to take a break?” Before he has a chance to react, I grab a spray bottle and begin spritzing the little zubat, much to his shock. I giggle a little bit, and I hear Yosie rumble a little bit with laughter. “Either way, I’ve got a potion with your name on it, so hold still for a sec.”  
  


\----------------------------

  
We don’t pause for very long, and I decide to give Jonathan’s moves a quick once-over. I boot up the PokéDex app on my phone to make sure I have the moves right, and both Darius and I have pokémon out taking the hits that Jonnie is dishing out. Test the effectiveness of moves, the works. Thankfully, Darius’ dwebble, Eugene, is a good sport.  
  
He doesn’t really have anything special, to be honest. Bite, Wing Attack, Supersonic, Absorb, nothing too crazy. And honestly, the attacks themselves aren’t even that physically powerful. However, I constantly note the speed at which he throws out every move. He doesn’t inflict much pain with every blow, but he can dash out of the way before an opponent can get a hit in. And he just doesn’t get tired, constantly flitting back and forth just a little too quick for anyone to catch him.  
  
“Don’t get too cocky,” Darius says. “You gotta remember, golett and dwebble are slow. Your Yossele has the advantage of arm jets to augment his speed, but his foot speed is still pretty sluggish.” He chuckles. “I’m almost obligated to tell you that Roark’s rampardos is freaky fast. He’d probably catch your zubat.”  
  
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I respond grimly. I clap my hands to get my friends’ attention. “Alright, Jonnie, I think they’ve had enough! You can stop now.” I turn to Darius. “Hey, you mind if I bow out for now? I need to feed my pokes.”  
  
“Actually,” he says, running over to his bag, “can I join you? I kinda forgot a lunch today, and the taco place next to the Gym serves pretty good poké-grub for the 'mons.”  
  
“No worries,” I say, “I’ll call Blake, see if he can come too. Hey Jonnie, let’s get some lunch. You hungry?”  
  
A quick chirp and a couple of minutes later, the whole lot of us are at the Maractus Soft Shell eating some cheap tacos. We have one of these in Icirrus, coincidentally, and I know from experience that their poké-food can sometimes be better than the human food. But none of us care that much, since it’s super cheap and not completely awful like Taco Bell, and Yosie doesn’t eat anyway. Jonathan, on the other hand, has his face practically  _buried_  into his bowl of food, and who can blame him? It’s his first time eating human-made food, after all; the taste is new to him. I scratch behind his ears as he feasts, and he leans into it, the little attention hog that he is. Thankfully, Yossele doesn’t seem to mind, as he’s hanging out with Ally, who’s quickly become his new sparring buddy. Sort of a replacement for Goliath.  
  
It’s a pretty nice scene, were it not for the fact that Darius clearly has had enough of Blake  _not shutting up_  about dinosaurs. I don’t particularly care, though, I kinda love all this.  
  
“I mean, it’s kinda nuts how diverse prehistoric Sinnoh was,” he’s saying. “Like, just right here at Oreburgh, there’s legit evidence of herds of triceratops and bastiodon protecting each other’s young.”  
  
“From what?” I ask. “Aren’t tyrantrum from Kalos or something?”  
  
“Right, but Tohjo, Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Kalos were all part of one big landmass in those times.”  
  
“Could we, like, talk about something-”  
  
“Well, what about the Unovan ones? That region's  _way_  too far away for any sort of connection to this big landmass.”  
  
“Those were migratory,” I hear someone say. I turn to see Roark enter the restaurant, his uniform drenched with sweat, especially around the collar of his neck. “Mind if I join you? The battle was pretty intense, kinda want some grub.”  
  
“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Darius responds,  _immediately_  beckoning him over, clearly elated that the conversation might  _finally_  steer away from ancient pokémon for at least a little while. “Tell us about it! What was the Trainer like, what was their team comp-”  
  
“One thing at a time, Darius,” Roark replies, a sly grin on his face. “I do believe Blake and Mattie were having a fascinating discussion on the migratory patterns of ancient pokémon, and seeing as that’s my specialty, I couldn’t help but want to contribute.” He smiles at Darius.  
  
On the surface, it’s an innocent one. Blake seems to think so too, judging by his face just lighting up at the sound.  
  
Me, though? I know that’s a dare. For some reason, Roark doesn’t want him here.  
  
“…I gotta get back to work,” Darius sighs, quickly getting up from his seat and leaving the restaurant. As he disappears from the joint, Roark lets out a sigh of his own.  _Definitely faked, though.  
  
_ “No appreciation for good science, that one,” he laughs.  
  
“Yeah, I know, right?” Blake begins. He’s about to continue, but Yosie, who’d finished sparring with Ally for the moment, taps him on the leg. I see him shake his head.  _I guess Yosie figured, too.  
  
_ “Any reason you didn’t want Darius here?” I pry, not really trying to hide it. I’m not bad at keeping secrets, but subtlety has never been my strongest suit. Both men at the table seem surprised, but Roark is far less so.  
  
“You sure catch on quick.”  
  
“Had a lot of practice.”  
  
“We’ll get to that, trust me.” He turns to Blake. “First thing’s first, though, I have a proposition for you. Next week, I’m going to the Solaceon dig site with my crew for a bit. Seeing as you’re headed that way from what you’ve said, I was wondering if you wanted to tag along. Get some real dig experience, all that good stuff.” He takes out a notebook. “Now, to be clear, it would be unpaid, and the work is difficult, so-”  
  
“I’m in.”  
  
Roark is taken aback. Not that he accepted, I don’t think, but probably at how quickly he agreed to it. “I mean, I guess that works, but maybe take some time to-”  
  
“Roark, I  _literally_  came here because of the Underground excavations. I’m in.”  
  
“Can’t say no to that,” he chuckles. “Alright, I’ll put you down on the list. I’ll send you some details of what to bring on Thursday after my battle with Mattie.”  
  
“Am I the last one before you leave?” I ask.  
  
“Not exactly. I've got one more the next day. Which leads me to my next thing.” His face is much more serious now. “Blake, I’m sorry, but this conversation has to be between me and Mattie. That alright?”  
  
“Uh…sure, I guess,” Blake murmurs. “Ally, come on, let’s go train on Route 207.” Ally immediately bounds over to his side, and they leave the restaurant together. As soon as they leave, Roark leans in a bit. I see Yosie approach the table as well.  
  
“So, the battle on Thursday,” he says. “You’re gonna have a guest.”  
  
“That’s…odd,” I mumble. The way he phrased it was a little strange, almost ominous. “Is it weird for people to watch a Gym Battle?”  
  
“Not really,” Roark continues. “We sometimes get friends or family who want to watch the battle, and if they’ve faced me before or aren't participating in the Gym Challenge, it’s allowed.”  
  
“Oh, is it just that Blake said he was gonna watch me battle? That’s pretty cool, I guess.”  
  
Roark hesitates. “I mean, Blake’s gonna be there too.”  
  
Now  _that’s_  a bit of a surprise. “Well, who else could it be?”  
  
“Actually, he was my opponent today.” He crosses his arms. “He told me that he knows you.”  
  
 _Oh, fuck me, not him.  
  
_ “Oh please don’t tell me he won,” I whimper, my hand covering my face.  
  
“No, he lost,” Roark replied. “Pretty badly, I might add. He came in very proud, even arrogant, but he and his elgyem seemed very out of sync with each other, and even having a budew on his team didn’t help-”  
  
“Wait, he caught another pokémon?!” I start. “Did he say how he caught it?”  
  
“So you  _do_  know him.”  
  
“Yeah, I met him on Route 202. He was an ass. How’d he catch the budew?”  
  
“He says that he rescued it.”  
  
“From what?”  
  
“He wouldn’t say.”  
  
“Probably another Trainer, if my impression of him is right.” I sigh. “Did not think that he’d actually be right that we’d see him again.”  
  
{I agree,} Yossele signs. {I’d rather not deal with that one again.} He cracks his knuckles. {However, I will if I have to.}  
  
“I see what you mean,” Roark says. He leans in so only I can hear him. “Quite frankly, he reminds me a little too much of the Plasma Grunts the Unova news liked to broadcast.”  
  
“Could not agree more,” I respond in a whisper. “Said it right to his face, too. Thought my words and our battle would’ve had some impact, but clearly I was being a little too optimistic.”  
  
“Does he know you used to be Plasma?”  
  
“Fuck no, why would I tell him that? Haven’t even told Blake.”  
  
“Fair. Was he?”  
  
“Dunno, but he comes from an area that had a lot of sympathizers.”  
  
“That explains quite a bit.” He leans back in his chair. “He must’ve spied my schedule book after the battle was over, as he insisted that he stay and watch you battle.” He pauses. “You alright with that?”  
  
I’m about to respond in the negative, but then catch Yossele out of the corner of my eye. His fists are clenched, in much the same way that they were before our battle with David not so long ago. I can even see a little bit of the ghostly flare around his fists. Hell, it’s conspicuous enough for Jonathan to glance up from his food bowl and take notice.  
  
“Alright, a little more context, I guess,” I sigh. “He insulted me the first time I saw him, and I guess Yossele is the type to stay angry at someone. I get the feeling that Yosie wants to show him up.”  
  
{I'll fight as many times as I have to.}  
  
“So, that being the case…” I pause, rubbing my eyes. “I don’t like it, but I guess so.”  
  
Roark gives me a nod. He’s a little bit difficult to read at the moment, but I think he gets why I’m so conflicted about this. “Alright, we’ll let it happen.”  
  
“If anyone else watches the battle, don’t let him near them. Might try to make them release their pokémon. I get the feeling that's what he was doing before I ran into him on 202.”  
  
“I’ll keep it in mind.”  
  
There’s a bit of uncomfortable silence between us. David is a bit of a complicated issue, no question about it.  
  
“For the record,” I mutter, “I came to Sinnoh so that I wouldn’t have to think about Plasma for a while. Having a sympathizer here is not what I had in mind.”  
  
“I can try to make sure you two don’t interact before the match, if that’s what you want.”  
  
“Maybe.” I get up, Jonathan flitting onto my shoulder. “Sorry to leave on a sour note, but I finished my food a while ago. I gotta start training, get ready for the match.”  
  
“No worries.” He flashes me a smile. “It’ll be a good battle, I’m sure of it. Don’t let him get to you.”  
  
“Tell Yossele that,” I chuckle.  
  
And he does. In  _sign_ , no less.  _Dammit, that’s cool of you, Roark._  “I’ll see you on Thursday, then.”  
  
“See ya.”  
  
As I exit the restaurant, I glance at Jonathan on my left shoulder. “Ready to train your ass off for a couple of days?” He returns with a lively screech. “And you, Yosie?”  
  
{Of course.}  
  
“Alright, then.” I grab my notebook from my pocket. “Let’s get to work.”


	6. Chapter 6: Blow the Coal Badge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Gym battle day for Mattie, and she's anticipating a challenge.
> 
> What she's not anticipating is the reappearance of an old ... friend, I guess?

“Alright, it’s Battle Day, guys. Yosie, Jonathan, talk to me.”  
  
{So, if I remember correctly, Roark can only send out as many pokémon as the challenger has, so he’ll only have 2.}  
  
“Right.” ~flip~ “More than likely, he’s gonna save his ace for last, since he’s the type of guy who’d give his opponents a fighting chance.”  
  
“Actually, that’s a Sinnoh rule. If a Gym Leader is gonna use his ace, it’s required that he save it for last.”  
  
“Okay, good to know.” ~skritch scratch~ “Write that down for…future…reference…got it. So, rampardos for last. What’re his other pokémon like, Blake?”  
  
“Can’t say for sure, Leaders tend to have a lot of pokémon. However, I’d anticipate that he’d send out either some form of geodude or one of his fossils.”  
  
“He has an Alolan form?”  
  
“Yeah, he’s the one that I faced. That ‘mon’s new, though, and you have a ground type as an ace, so don’t – ow! Stop it!”  
  
“Jonnie, get away from him!” ~grab~ “No biting!”  
  
~scree scray!~  
  
{I think he’s angry that you rely on me so much.}  
  
“Arceus, you’re such a diva. Jonnie, I just caught you, and I’ve been training with Yossele for years. You’re great, and I mean no offense, but I just know Yosie a little better.”  
  
~eeree…~  
  
“It’s alright, bud, you’re still cool.”  
  
“Honestly, I’d expect him to use his anorith. It’s a little faster than other first-stage ancient pokémon, so he could match Jonathan a little better, and his onix just evolved, so it’s ineligible to participate in the Rock-type Gym anymore.”  
  
“That’s a thing?”  
  
“It’s a thing.”  
  
“Heh. Tell that to Blue from Kanto.”  
  
“I mean, I don’t think he ever really cared about the rules, but he’s constructing a team of Ground-types now, so I think he’s going legit.”  
  
“What a loss for rebels everywhere. Okay, so Jonathan first, then Yossele. Sound good, guys?”  
  
{Sounds good.}  
  
~scree!~  
  
“Alright. Let’s go to the Gym.”  
  


  -----------------------  

  
The front desk actually has someone manning it today. He’s on the older side, with graying hair and wide glasses. He greets me warmly, takes down my name, and ushers me towards the main room. Blake takes the opportunity to head to the seating area on the side of the arena, leaving me alone to enter the stadium proper.  
  
It’s an intimidating sight when I first enter. The room itself is huge, with some of those same fossils I’d seen in the entrance plastered onto the walls. Creatures with wings, claws, giant teeth, and all sorts of other features.  _I can see why Blake loves this stuff so much. Even as bones, they’re beautiful_. I see Blake sitting in the left-hand bleachers. He gives me a wave. I wave back. I can also see Roark at the other end of the stadium. I give him a nod. He gives me a smirk, but says nothing.  
  
In the right-hand bleachers, I see a familiar set of blond locks. David’s eyes are boring into me, scrutinizing me. I notice his pokémon close to him. His elgyem has wrapped his arms gently around his neck, his head tilted to the side. And I can see his budew, bouncing up and down on David’s lap, seemingly enjoying itself, oblivious to its Trainer’s hostility. Against my better judgment, I approach him.  
  
“Man, you must be psychic,” I say, putting on a fake smile. “Never would’ve guessed you’d be right about us meeting up again, but here we are.” I chuckle a bit. “You consult your elgyem for that little bit of ESP?”  
  
“Maybe I did,” he replies. “Or maybe I just took a lucky guess. Either way, here we are.” I’m actually a little surprised how measured his tone is. It’s a far cry from the weird craziness I’d seen on Route 202. “Captured a new companion, I see.”  
  
“Yeah, met Jonathan in the Oreburgh Gate. Helped him out of a jam.”  
  
“And you stole him from his home.”  
  
“More like he wouldn’t leave me alone. Soon as I helped him out he practically latched onto my shoulder.” Almost as if on cue, I feel Jonathan perch on top of my head. I scratch behind his ears somewhat absentmindedly. “What about your budew? How’d you find them?”  
  
“She wandered up to me on 204. I took her in.”  
  
“Freed her from a Trainer like you wanted to do on 202?”  
  
“No Trainers around.”  
  
“And you stole her from  _her_  home, then.”  
  
“She wouldn’t leave me alone either.”  
  
“Huh. It’s almost as if pokémon  _like_  being around people.”  
  
“Seems that way.”  
  
There are a few moments of uncomfortable silence between us. I’m almost relieved that he didn’t actually force someone to give up their pokémon, but I can’t help but be confused. Why would he be so hostile to me not much more than a week ago, and yet all of a sudden completely change his tune? Feels odd. I shrug, and walk onto the raised platform near me. _  
  
I’ll talk to him more later.  
_  
{Alright, Yosie, remember the plan?} I sign.  
  
{Yes,} he responds. {Jonathan goes in first, takes on the first pokémon. He does as well as he can, then I take over.}  
  
{Right, and what do we do with the rampardos?}  
  
{Stall and learn. Figure out his strengths and weaknesses, maintaining Iron Defense for as long as I can.}  
  
{And when the time is right, we break out the You-Know-What.}  
  
{I’m very glad I finally learned a quake move. Hopefully the You-Know-What will be as effective in practice as in theory.}  
  
{Absolutely.} I pull Jonathan off my head and hold him in front of me. “You ready?” I whisper to him.  
  
He nods.  
  
“Alright.” I face Roark. “Ready when you are.”  
  
“Perfect,” he says. He stands up a little straighter. “Since it’s your first Gym Battle, let me inform you of the rules.” He clears his throat. “First, how many pokémon will you be battling with today?”  
  
“Just two.” I motion to Jonathan and Yossele. “I mean, I haven’t caught anyone else since you last saw me.”  
  
“No worries, just formality.” He clears his throat again. “Darius will act as the referee for each battle. He’s been taught to recognize when a pokémon is unable to battle, and will end each bout before either combatant is badly hurt.” He nods at Darius, who’s standing on a pedestal within the right-hand bleachers. “He’s done this before, so you can trust him.  
  
“We will each use two pokémon, as that’s how many you have right now. If your party number should exceed the Leader’s in future bouts, you will have to match them instead of them matching you. You will be able to switch combatants if you wish, whereas I can’t. The battle is over when all of our combatants are unable to continue.” He pauses. “Is that clear enough?”  
  
“Got it,” I reply, showing him my freshly written notes.  
  
“Good. Let’s get started then. Darius, you ready?”  
  
“Ready.”  
  
“Perfect.” Roark unclips a Pokéball from his belt. “Then let’s begin! Come on out, Noma!”  
  
Materializing on the battlefield in a flash of white-blue light, a small, green-and-black shrimp appears in front of Roark.  _Right on the money, Blake, good call._  The anorith’s large, beady blue eyes scan the battlefield excitedly, its white-and-red legs letting it skitter quickly across the ground. As I motion for Jonnie to enter the arena, the anorith actually gives him a little wave.  _Arceus, that’s adorable._  
  
“Let the match begin!”  
  
_No time for that, though. Let’s get this shit started._  
  
“Jonnie, dive in for a Wing Attack, no hesitation!”  
  
“Noma, out of the way!”  
  
The zubat’s wings glow a dull white as he dive-bombs at his opponent. The anorith attempts to juke out of the way, but Jonnie is just that little bit too quick, landing a quick strike on its left side.  
  
“Fury Cutter while he’s right there!”  
  
Almost faster than I can react, and far too fast for Jonnie to avoid, the anorith lashes out with its claws, landing a direct hit on the zubat’s chest. It’s not enough to break the skin, but it looks like it hurts.  
  
“Get out of there and hit him with Supersonic, throw him off balance!”  
  
“Push through it and try to get in another Fury Cutter!”  
  
_Shit, that’s not good. Jonnie's still reeling from the first one, and another slash like that is bound to hurt even more._  The zubat lets out a deafening screech in an attempt to prevent this, but the anorith brushes it off, leaping at him to land another slash. Its claw connects with his right wing, leaving a small gash on the upper finger. He’s starting to look a bit rough, but he has a way to combat this.  
  
“Jonnie, try to Bite him, see if you can Absorb some of his stamina away!”  
  
Not skipping a beat, Jonathan practically rams into Noma, knocking the anorith onto its back. He clamps down onto its belly and begins to chew on Noma –  _kinda reminds me of Ally_  – with his teeth shimmering a sickly green color. He doesn’t stay for long, but he definitely looks better as he swoops away.  
  
“That’s more like it! Another Wing Attack, while it’s down!”  
  
I can tell that Noma is still a little rattled from the Supersonic, as it’s taking a little while to right itself. Jonnie takes advantage of this with another dive-bomb, and this time the anorith is too confused to counter, instead slamming its hand into the ground.  
  
“Noma, snap out of it!”  
  
“Keep it up, Jonnie, you got this!”  
  
The little zubat rams his glowing wings into the anorith a couple more times, even adding a little flourish to his second dive, turning to me afterwards.  _Not the time to be showing off, bud, he could recover any-_  
  
“Noma, use Water Gun!”  
  
_Oh, shit! I forgot anorith have range!_  “Jonnie, get out of the way!”  
  
Noma, focusing her eyes and snapping out of its daze, launches a stream of water at the zubat. Jonnie, who isn’t concentrating on his opponent, is blindsided by the Water Gun, making him lose some altitude.  
  
“Good job, girl!” Roark exclaims. “While he’s off balance, let’s finish this! Aerial Smack Down!” _  
  
Wait, aerial? Anorith can’t-_  
  
Before I can even respond, Noma points her mouth to the ground and shoots a Water Gun into the ground, launching herself into the air at blinding speed. Clearly she’s done this before, as she’s right on course to slam into Jonnie.  
  
“Jonnie, MOVE!” I yell. However, it’s far too late, as Noma, stopping the water stream and orienting herself midair to face the zubat, smashes her face and claws into Jonathan, sending him careening to the ground. He lands hard, kicking up a small cloud of dirt as he slides on the floor.  
  
“Arceus, Jonnie! Are you okay?”  
  
In response, Jonathan weakly pushes his head off the ground. He gives off a quiet chirp, shaking his head. I don’t think he’s badly hurt, but he looks exhausted.  
  
Which is only emphasized when he flops back down to earth, beaten.  
  
“Mathilda’s zubat is unable to battle,” Darius calls out. “Roark’s anorith wins the bout.” He turns to me. “You can retrieve him from the battlefield.”  
  
I nod, summoning his Pokéball from my belt and clicking the button. Jonnie’s small form fades into red light, which is quickly retracted into the confines of the red-and-white capsule.  
  
“Showing off a little too much, buddy,” I say to him. I’d learned that pokémon can still hear the outside world from within the ball, so I want to say a few words. “Don’t focus on looking cute, focus on what’s in front of you.” I smile. “You still did really good, though. That was your first real battle, and you landed a bunch of hits. You should be proud. I know I am.” I look to Yossele. “Your turn. You good to go?”  
  
{Let’s do this,} he responds, the runes on his hands flashing a bright blue. He jumps into the arena from where he was at my side, shaking the ground with his weight.  
  
“Are both combatants ready?”  
  
Roark, Yossele, and I all nod.  
  
“Then begin!”  
  
“Noma, Water Gun!”  
  
“Dodge and use Magnitude!”  
  
Noma lets loose another stream of water, but Yossele, despite his bulk, is able juke out of the way with his jets. I make sure to steady my feet as he slams his fists into the ground, launching his jet streams as hard as he can. It’s not as strong as it was on 202, but it’s enough to get the ground shaking pretty considerably. It clearly caught the anorith off balance, as she’s having trouble staying upright and avoiding the chucks of earth flying everywhere. She’s looking pretty battered.  
  
“Quickly, try and finish her with a Shadow Punch combo!”  
  
It looks like that’s what he's thinking anyway, since as soon as the quaking dies down even a little, he launches himself at the anorith, his fists blazing with ghostly flame. Noma tries to dodge, but Yosie just doesn’t miss with that move. His left fist connects with her jaw, lifting her slightly into the air before his right slams her back to earth.  
  
It looks like that was enough, as Noma looks spent.  
  
“Roark’s anorith is unable to battle. Mathilda’s golett wins the bout.”  
  
I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the battle didn’t take too long. I wave him over as Roark calls back his anorith.  
  
“Nice job on ending that one so quickly,” I say.  
  
{Thank you,} he replies. {Want to save my strength for the rampardos, so I’m glad that went so quickly.}  
  
“That was impressive!” Roark calls out from the other end of the arena. “Your zubat did great, especially considering how other flying types tend to suffer here.” He turns to Darius. “And I gotta say, you were right on the money with her golett. Three moves and Noma was out. He’s downright scary.”  
  
{I try,} Yossele quips, eliciting a laugh from Roark.  
  
“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grabs another Pokéball from his belt. I recognize the yellow-and-black design. An Ultra Ball. “Fortunately,” he continues, “I have a scary one of my own. Show ‘em what you got, Moloch!”  
  
As he tosses the ball into the arena, a massive gray-and-blue lizard slams into the arena. It paws the ground with its massive feet, letting out a low growl while giving us a smirk. It means business.  
  
“You remember the plan?”  
  
{Of course.}  
  
“Cool, just checking.” I turn to Darius as Yossele re-enters the battlefield. “We’re ready.”  
  
He gives me a nod. “And you, Roark?”  
  
“Ready.”  
  
“Then begin!”  
  


<\---------------------------------------->  

  
“Moloch, Headbutt!”  
  
“Yosie, Iron Defense!”  
  
As the protective flame coats my body, I put up my arms in a defensive position. He’s too fast to dodge, so I just have to take it. Thankfully, my body is well-protected by my large arms, so when Moloch eventually does slam into me headfirst and rams me into the wall, it doesn’t hurt that badly. It still smarts, though.  
  
“That was brave of you,” Moloch hisses, backing away slowly. “Not every day an opponent doesn’t even try to dodge.” He gives me a grin. “Pretty stupid, though.”  
  
“Again, Moloch!”  
  
The grin stays plastered on his face as he leans back for another charge.  _He leans back before he rams anyone. Must remember that._  
  
“Dodge and hit him with Stomping Tantrum!”  
  
_Good move choice, Mattie,_  I think as I instinctively fire my jets to my left and jump out of the way.  _It is a mistake to call me stupid._  I manage to evade his head at just the right moment, and as soon as my feet contact the earth, I let out another blast to launch myself back at the rampardos. He doesn’t have much time to react before I slam my fists repeatedly into his side. I try to hit him in the ribs. Hard to run properly if your chest hurts.  
  
“Moloch, try to loop around him and use Zen Headbutt!”  
  
_That’s a new one._  Moloch’s domed head glows with a pinkish tint as he whips around to attempt a slam with his head. Thankfully, because he doesn’t actually charge me and has no momentum, I’m able to bat his face away from me before it hits my chest.  
  
“Take me seriously, Moloch,” I rumble, assuming my stance. “I know I’m strong enough to beat you.”  
  
“I’ll try to remember that when you’re on the ground.”  
  
“Noted.”  
  
“Moloch, try another Headbutt!” I hear Roark order. “Knock him down!”  
  
I know I’m starting to run low on energy, so I get creative. As he charges at me again, I quickly dig one fist into the ground and fire a jet pulse, launching some dirt into his face. The Headbutt still lands and pushes me away, but Moloch’s shaking his head, trying to clear the dirt from his eyes.  
  
“Nice Mud Slap, Yosie!” I hear Mattie cheer. “Follow it up with a Shadow Punch!”  
  
A ghostly flame covers my hand as I jet over to him. I slam my fist into the side of his head, making sure to avoid the dome on top and the spikes in the back. It connects with his jawline with a satisfying crunch, sending him reeling.  
  
“Good job, Yosie, keep it up!”  
  
If I could smile, I would be. Everything’s going according to plan for the moment. I take a second to evaluate my situation.  _All of his attacks rely on his head, that much is obvious. He also needs to rear back and charge if he wants a solid hit. His dome does the damage, but the side of his head and ribs are hurt._  
  
I look at my opponent. Moloch’s breathing pretty heavily, but is definitely still able to fight. “Alright, now I’m impressed, kid,” he snarls. “Even though I’m going to beat you, you should know that you’re probably the best challenge I’ve had in weeks, and I’m including pokémon who beat me.”  
  
“Thank you, but the fight’s not over yet.”  
  
“Oh I haven’t forgotten that.” He lets out a short bark, pawing the ground.  _He’s getting ready for something; I can feel it._  I assume a defensive stance.  
  
“I can work with that. Go for broke, Moloch! Head Smash!”  
  
_Oh, Arceus protect me._  
  
“Shit, get out of the-”  
  
The only thing I see before I’m hit is Moloch’s head flaring with a fiery blue aura. Then, faster than a bullet, I feel an impact right on my chest sigil. It’s powerful enough that I lose concentration on my Iron Defense aura, which makes my collision with the side wall even more painful. I practically slide down the wall, only able to position my feet under me through sheer force of will.  
  
“Yosie, are you okay?!” I hear Mattie scream. I don’t respond right away, as I’m trying to find Moloch again through my slightly hazy vision.  
  
He's woozy. I hear him breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating even, shaking his head to reorient himself to me. He's pawing the ground with his feet, trying to find purchase on the floor to stabilize himself. I can see his eyes are slightly crossed, and there's a small bruise on the tip of his domed skull.  _So it hurts the user too? Didn’t realize that. I need to take advantage of this._  
  
“Yosie, are you alright?” Mattie repeats. “Can you keep going?”  
  
_I think it’s time we end this._  
  
I don’t give her a nod. Nor do I give her a thumbs-up. Instead, I lift up both my index fingers and give them a twirl. I turn to face her. She has a look of surprise on her face.  
  
“You sure? Are you positive you can pull this off?”  
  
I nod. She slowly returns the favor.  
  
“Alright, then. Get ready.” There’s a bit of hesitation in her voice. I don’t blame her. We’ve never attempted this in a real battle before, so in all likelihood, I could easily screw it up.  
  
_It can’t hurt to try, though._  
  
I can Roark trying to orient Moloch with his voice, and it looks like it’s working. He’s focused on me again.  
  
“Moloch, hit him with another Headbutt! Should be enough to end it!”  
  
_Wait for it…_  
  
Moloch rears back on his heels. I begin charging my arm jets.  
  
_Wait for it…_  
  
He plants his foot down, and leans forward to charge.  
  
_NOW!!_  
  
“Yosie, QSS!”  
  
Immediately, I slam my fists into the ground and launch a Magnitude attack, this one much more successful than the first. I feel the shockwave emanate from the epicenter from the blast, splintering the ground. And crucially, throwing off Moloch’s balance.  
  
_Quake._  
  
As soon as I see him stumble, I launch my jets behind me and make a beeline towards the rampardos. I’m flying so fast, I’m not sure my feet are even touching the ground. Before I reach him, I glance up at the left-hand bleachers. At David. From the quick glimpse I get, he’s staring pretty intently at the battle, biting his lip to prevent himself from blurting out any nonsense.  
  
_Channel the rage like before. It'll be more powerful that way._  
  
I lace my hands together and slam them into Moloch’s side, channeling my anger and frustration at David into the blow as I put a Stomping Tantrum into his ribs. The force of the blow is enough to knock him off his feet, hitting the ground with a thud.  
  
_Slam._  
  
“Now, Yosie! Finish him with Shadow Punch!”  
  
The familiar feeling of power wells up in my hand. I check Moloch’s jawline.  _There’s the bruise I left him earlier._  I line up my fist.  
  
_Smash._  
  


<\-------------------------------->

  
The room is silent for a moment. I see Yosie standing over Moloch, his right hand still coursing with ghostly energy. I’m holding my breath. And the rampardos isn’t moving.  
  
Breathing. Definitely not badly hurt. But too tired to fight anymore.  
  
“Roark’s rampardos is unable to battle,” Darius exclaims. “Mattie’s golett wins the bout. The challenger is victorious!”  
  
I finally exhale, pumping my fist in relief. Blake’s cheering from the stands, and it’s a pretty funny sight, seeing him applaud all by himself.  
  
David is silent and unmoving.  
  
I look over to Yosie, whose shoulders have slumped forward in exhaustion. Looking at him, he’s looking a bit worse for wear. The sigil on his chest is a little dented, but it’s nothing a little potion can’t fix. He gives me a thumbs-up. I don’t even notice that Roark has clambered onto the arena until he waves me down. Yossele’s already moving towards him. As if on cue, stairs extend from the sides of my pedestal into the arena. I gingerly climb down the stairs, grabbing a potion from my hoodie as I move over to Roark.  
  
“I think Darius was onto something when he warned me about your golett,” he says, a warm smile on his face. “He’s something to behold. You should be proud of him.”  
  
“Thanks,” I respond, “but Moloch is super strong, too. I was super worried about that Head Smash.” I kneel down and start spraying Yosie where he looks the most damaged. “Not gonna lie, I thought you had me when Yosie’d slammed into the wall. Must’ve taken every ounce of strength he had to keep going.”  
  
“Probably. Usually does the trick. Seems I can't bet on an all-out attack as a guarantee, huh?” Roark grabs Noma’s Pokéball from his belt, summoning her in a flash of light. She still looks tired, but still gives us a bit of a wave as she materializes. I do the same with Jonnie, having him materialize on my shoulder so he doesn’t have to fly. I get the feeling this is sort of ceremonial, so I just kind of want to go with it.  
  
But I can’t. Because for some reason, I just want to gush about that anorith.  
  
“Okay, I gotta ask, how the hell did you get Noma to fly like that?” I exclaim. “’Cause, I mean, that was amazing!” I hear Jonnie start to perk up, giving off a little chirp. “Like, I didn’t think it was possible for a Water Gun to lift a pokémon off the ground, and then she righted herself in the air-”  
  
“Alright, alright already!” Roark interjects. “It was just practice. It all comes from being the Trainer and pokémon being in sync with each other.” He looks at Yossele. “You and Yossele already seem to have that bond, and it shows. That last combo was killer.” He walks over and pets Jonnie. “I get the feeling that you’ll get that too, Jonathan. Just be patient. You’ll get your chance to show off to Mattie, don’t you worry.”  
  
He leans into the pets.  _You little diva._  
  
“Mathilda Kasdan,” Roark continues, “you’ve proven yourself a worthy challenger. By besting the first of eight Gym Battles, you’ve officially begun your Sinnoh League Challenge.” He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a blue-and-black case. Inside, there’s a shining brown badge, half Pokéball, half mine cart. “On behalf of the Sinnoh Pokémon League, I award you the Coal Badge as a symbol of your victory over the Oreburgh Gym.” He hands it to me. As I take it, he gives my hand a hearty shake. “Congratulations.”  
  
I smile and say the pleasantries, but my heart’s not totally in it. David’s face is sticking with me for some reason. It’s like he wanted to say something.  
  
We need to have a talk.  
  


  -------------------------------- 

  
“Sorry I can’t stick around to say goodbye, Mattie,” Blake is saying. “I gotta go pack, go to sleep early tonight. Expedition leaves next week, and I want to head there early.” He smiles. “You kicked ass, by the way. Just thought you should know.”  
  
I give him a smile. “Thanks. Means a lot. Keep in touch?”  
  
“Absolutely. Let me know when you’re near Solaceon, I’ll try to see if we can hang out again.”  
  
“Totally. I see ya ‘round, then.”  
  
“See ya.”  
  
I watch him walk out of the Gym. Yossele waves goodbye as well. It hits me that he might actually be the first friend I’ve made outside of Unova. Hell, he might be the first real friend I’ve made in years.  
  
Since Plasma, really.  
  
“Mattie Kasdan.”  
  
_Speak of the devil._  
  
“David,” I say. I turn around to see him coming out of the viewing bleachers. Both of his pokémon are out of their balls, and they’re positioned to make him look like he has a posse. Elgyem to his left, budew to his right.  
  
It’s almost cute. I’ve seen more intimidating figures than that sorry excuse for posturing.  _He’d never actually cut in Plasma._  
  
“Why’d you stay and watch?” I inquire. “I thought you hated the suffering of pokémon.” I advance towards him. “For that matter, why are you doing the Gym Challenge if you hate it so much?”  
  
“It’s none of your business why I’m here,” he snarls. “And besides, Elgyem wants to get stronger, and this is the best way to do it.”  
  
“Well, you’re not gonna have long to face Roark again. He leaves for a dig next week. Think you can beat him?”  
  
“Of course I can. Who do you think you’re talking to?”  
  
“The guy whose ace got whooped in two moves on Route 202, that’s who.” I cross my arms, starting to let my anger creep onto my face. “Roark mentioned a few days ago that you had the same attitude when you faced him the first time, and you lost again. I’m starting to think you might not be very good at this, buddy.” I start to advance on him. “And yet here you are. As arrogant as the last time I saw you. Even though you lost. So what’s the deal?” I stop. I’m within a couple of feet from him. I could probably grab him if I wanted to. “Why are you really here?”  
  
“Why are  _you_  here?”  
  
“Don’t deflect the question, wannabe.”  
  
“You’re deflecting yourself, you know. You can answer my question, too.”  
  
“I asked first.”  
  
“And I answered already. It’s none of your business.”  
  
“Like hell it’s none of my business, you watched my battle!  _Why are you here?!_ ”  
  
“SHUT UP!!”  
  
The ferocity of his scream stops me in my tracks. Yossele gives me a look. I turn to him, and he points at my hand.  
  
It’s clenched in a fist. Trembling.  _When did I get so angry? How did I let him get to me?_  I look back at David.  
  
He’s not smiling, though. He doesn’t have that arrogant look on his face from before. His brows are furrowed. He’s biting his lip. He looks…sad, almost.  
  
“I want to respect you, you know,” he mutters. “I had a good bit of time to think about this. You beat me on 202, fair and square. You’ve shown me that you care about pokémon, not only through your story about how you caught your zubat, but throughout the battle. You didn’t try to hurt Roark’s pokémon, nor did you put your pokémon though any undue pain. You demonstrated that you care.” He takes a breath. “But then you question my motives, which really aren’t any of your business, by the way, belittle my pokémon, and insult me.” He turns to leave. “I want to respect you, Mattie Kasdan, but I don’t know if I can right now.” He lets out a sigh and walks out the door.  
  
I feel myself shaking. I need to get out of here, but I don’t want to worry anyone. I shove my hands into my pockets and walk out as well. I feel the afternoon air hit my face as I leave the Gym. For the first time since I was waiting for Professor Rowan in the lab, I feel cold. And it hits me.  
  
_I ..._ I _was the asshole. Not him._  
  
_Me._  
  
“Arceus dammit,” I whisper to no one as I walk back to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you could probably guess, this chapter marks the first appearance of a perspective switch! It will always be clear when perspective switches (you'll see a line break with arrows, like <\----------->), and the only two perspectives you'll ever see are between Mattie and Yossele, for simplicity's sake. I hope that makes sense.


	7. It Means Delight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie's still coming to grips with her talk with David. However, her journey must continue, but she has no idea where to start.
> 
> That's where her new companion comes in.

_I’m sitting in the Icirrus police station. My hands are folded on my lap, my thumbs twirling around each other anxiously. My foot is practically slamming into the ground like a jackhammer. It’s nice weather today, but my hoodie is on and covering my eyes._  
  
_More than anything else, it’s the hoodie that people are looking at. I can imagine everyone’s stares. What do they think of me when they see it? Are they angry? Sad? Disappointed? Could be a lot of things._  
  
_I don’t blame them one bit._  
  
_“Okay, Mattie, we’re ready for you now.”_  
  
_I look up. Officer Jennifer Grayson is giving me a warm smile. Her brown eyes have bags under them, and even under her cap, her turquoise hair is a mess. Must be working her to the bone. And she just had a kid, too. I nod, getting up from my seat. She escorts me into the back room._  
  
_My mom is waiting inside the interview room. My dad should be here, too, but his latest surgery had complications, so he’s still at the hospital. He wouldn’t be much help anyway, considering that he can barely hear, and to my understanding, no one in the ICPD knows USL. It’s a shame, really._  
  
_I kinda wanted him here, too._  
  
_“Thanks for being patient with me, Mrs. Kasdan,” Officer Grayson says. “I know the interview was a bit grueling and tedious–”_  
  
_“You’re telling me,” I hear Mom mutter under her breath._  
  
_“–but rest assured that no one is in any trouble here. To reiterate, Mattie wasn’t involved in any way that can be considered a crime.” She turns to me. “But the fact is, you did turn yourself in, so we needed to go by procedure.”_  
  
_I nod. Don’t feel like talking at the moment. I can feel my mom staring daggers into me; I’d rather not dig a deeper hole. I’m getting chewed out tonight, I can already tell._  
  
_“So, you’re free to go,” she continues. “However…” She takes a look at the Pokéball resting on my belt. “I hope you don’t mind if we take that off your hands for a bit. We’ll check the records for you.”_  
  
_“Wait, what do you mean?” my mom demands. “Are you seriously suggesting that my daughter-”_  
  
_“Mom!” I interject. “It’s alright. She’s not accusing me of anything.” I look down. “I just want them to check something. Nothing serious, I asked for them to do this.” I look at her eyes. “I promise.”_  
  
_She hesitates. She hates it when I do this, I know. Usurp her “authority.” She thinks she should always have the last word, but she can’t. Not right now. This is my problem. He’s my problem. And I gotta fix it myself._  
  
_She already knows I was Plasma, I don’t need her to know anything more._  
  
_“I’ll be in the car,” she mutters, storming out of the room in a huff. There’s silence in the room for a moment. It’s not awkward, though. Officer Grayson is cool about it._  
  
_“Arceus, she can be a little frustrating sometimes,” she comments._  
  
_“Yeah, and I live with her.” I feel a small headache coming on. It’s way too early in the morning for this. I clutch the bridge of my nose. “Can I sit for a bit?”_  
  
_“Sure, sure, no problem,” she says, “are you alright?” I semi-collapse into the chair, shaking my head. “Mattie?”_  
 

 

\------------------------------

  
“Earth to Mattie, can you read me?”  
  
Right. Forgot. That was three years ago. I’m  _actually_  in the park by the Oreburgh Gym, and it’s Roark I’m talking to, not Officer Grayson. We’re sitting on a bench near a pond. Some starly are splashing in the water, ruffling their feathers and generally having a good time. “Sorry, spaced a little bit, what were you saying?”  
  
“I mean, I was asking if you were alright, but you’re sort of answering my question for me.”  
  
“Didn’t sleep so well last night, nothing too crazy.” I look at my feet. I feel my fingers absentmindedly playing with the orange tips in my hair. “Before that.”  
  
“Oh, right! That,” Roark exclaims. He starts fumbling with his pack. “You kinda disappeared last night, so I wasn’t able to give you your winnings.”  
  
“…winnings?”  
  
{Right, that wager thing from before,} I see Yossele sign. {Weren’t  _you_  the one who mentioned that Trainers usually give money to the winner of a battle?} He gives me a look I can only interpret as mock disapproval. If I weren’t so tired, I’d be chuckling.  
  
“Yeah, but he’s a Gym Leader. Bit of a difference in status there, bud.”  
  
“Actually, not as much as you think,” Roark interjects, taking out his PokéGear. “We actually instituted a League rule that requires Gym Leaders to give out some money to the winners of a Gym Challenge Battle. It was mostly to help out Trainers who were running short on funds, and since that’s becoming more and more common these days, I hope you don’t mind if I insist.”  
  
“Eh, I dunno. I kinda feel weird about it, ‘specially since my parents are helping me out money-wise.”  
  
“It’s no trouble, believe me. Gym Leaders don’t get a cent of this. The League reserved it for you.”  
  
I hesitate. It just feels a little odd. Doing a money exchange with random Trainers makes at least a little sense, it’s like we bet on the battle. But Leaders? Whole ‘nother story.  
  
_Ah, who am I kidding? How could I call myself a selfish asshole if I passed up free money?_  
  
“Fine, but only because you’re being so nice about it,” I say as I take out my PokéGear. Roark punches in a few numbers, and I hear a beep on my Gear to signal the money transfer.  _Hm, 7800. Not a bad haul_.  
  
“Sorry, can’t stay much longer,” Roark grunts as he gets up from the bench. “Got an appointment with David in half an hour, and I want to talk strategy with my team.”  
  
“You using that anorith? She packed a hell of a punch.”  
  
“No, I used an onix last time with him, and I want to stay consistent. See if he’s capable of learning from a loss.”  
  
“Yeah…” I give him a smile, but in the back of my head I’m sort of glad he didn’t ask me if I wanted to watch the battle. Granted, it’s probably because of what I told him about our first conversation, but I just…don’t really want to see him right now.  
  
He’s given me a lot to think about.  
  
“However,” he continues, “I  _would_  still like to see you off, just to make sure you’re headed in the right direction.”  
  
“How so?”  
  
“Well, seeing as you’re at least somewhat interested in doing the Gym Challenge from the looks of it, I was wondering if you knew where you were headed next,” Roark replies, hoisting himself from the bench with a grunt. “Depending on where you want to go, I can point you in the right direction.”  
  
I…haven’t really given that much thought. It hasn’t really registered in my mind yet, but yeah, I  _am_  doing the Gym Challenge now.  _Officially_ , at least. And that means I need to find more Gyms.  _Hey, at least it’ll give me something to do to distract me for a bit._  
  
“What do you think, Yosie?” I ask. “Where would you wanna go next?”  
  
{I’m not sure why you’re asking me, Mattie,} he signs with a shrug. {I have no idea where anything is in Sinnoh, so I’m just as lost as you.}  
  
“Fair enough,” I respond, a chuckle passing from my lips. “Shoulda expected that. So, uh, yeah, we’re gonna need a little bit of help in that regard.”  
  
“No worries on that front. I’m leaving for the dig this weekend, and my girlfriend is stopping by to see me off after the battle. If you like, you can tag along with her for a bit. She lives in Eterna, which is relatively close by, and she’s training a potential Ranger, which is good if you want to meet more people.”  
  
Yossele and I glance at each other immediately. That’s a lot of information to take in at once, especially the bit about Eterna – not to mention the fact that Roark has a girlfriend. From the little bit I’ve learned of him, I honestly thought he’d be too busy to be in a relationship.  
  
Not that I’d tell him that to his face, anyway.  
  
“Cool. Anything I should know about her before I meet her?”  
  
Roark gives me a knowing smirk. “Other than the fact that she’s probably the next Gym Leader you’re gonna face? No, not much.” And with a chuckle, he turns and walks away, a subtle skip to his step.  
  
And I’m just sitting there, in the park, trying to process the little bomb he just dropped on me.  
  
{Well this is very inconvenient,} Yossele says, snapping me back into reality…again. {We have no idea what this woman looks like, or even her name, so how are we supposed to be able to find her?}  
  
“Uh…” That’s actually a very good point. How are we supposed to find someone who we have, like, no details on?  _Yeah, I should probably text him, try to find out a little bit about her._  “Um, yeah, yeah, thanks, I should probably ask him about that. Thanks for the catch, Yosie.”  
  
{You’re welcome.}  
  
                                                                                           ------------------------------  
  
I learn her name is Gardenia. I don’t get any details on what she looks like, but it’s a start, I guess. For the next couple of hours, I ask around town, see if anyone knows if she’s in Oreburgh at the moment. She’s not, from the sound of it, but most everyone knows who she is. Ever since she and Roark started dating, they’ve visited each other pretty frequently, at least once a month. They try to keep it on the down low, but it’s two Gym Leaders, it’s a little hard to keep that under wraps.  
  
But she’s not here at the moment, or at least not according to the townspeople.  
  
And thus, I’m back in the park. Yossele and Jonnie (or just Jonnie, really) have eaten a little snack, and have begun sparring again. They’ve been at it for a while, actually, they started about 45 minutes ago. From the looks of it, Yossele is trying to instill a sense of humility into the little zubat, and is doing it the only way he knows how: relentlessly attacking him. It’s a little more fearsome than his training in the Gym, and Jonathan has to adjust accordingly. Thankfully I’ve got some spare potions, so no one’s in any real danger of getting hurt.  
  
I’m distracted, though, and not just because I’m waiting on Roark to get back to me after his battle is over. My notebook, normally used to take notes on what my battle strategies are, is sitting on a blank page in my hand. My mind just can’t focus on that right now.  
  
I’m thinking about David.  
  
_What was his deal?_  I think.  _First time I meet him he’s this weirdo wannabe, the next he says he’s trying to respect me? What gives? What changed?_  I feel myself hunch over on the bench, leaning into myself as my thoughts begin to overwhelm me.  _And what the hell was I thinking yesterday? I shouldn’t be thinking he wouldn’t make it in Plasma, I don’t want anyone to fit in to Plasma! They were fucking awful!_  
  
I stop.  
  
“What does that say about me?”  
  
I look up at Yossele and Jonnie, expecting them to still be going at it. However, they’ve stopped. Jonnie is perched on Yossele’s shoulders, seemingly resting. Yossele, meanwhile, is sitting on the ground facing me. He’s not moving, but his head is tilted slightly to…my left.  
  
_There’s something next to me, isn’t there?_  
  
I turn to my left, and there’s a dinosaur. Like, there’s a slender, green reptilian head right next to me, and it’s looking at me. It slowly tilts its snout towards me, showing me its…banana beard, I guess? It’s a strange sight. But hey, it’s always very weird the first time someone sees a tropius in the flesh.  
  
“Uh…” I stammer. “Hi there. Who’re you?” I hesitantly reach out my hand to try to pet its head, and it leans into it, seemingly receptive. It really wants me to notice the bananas under its chin, though, twisting its neck so that I can’t miss it, no matter how hard I try. “Do…do you want me to pick a banana?” I ask. “Is that okay? Doesn’t that hurt?”  
  
“No, not at all. They like to do this, actually.”  
  
I jump a little at the new voice, almost thinking it was the tropius for a second before doing a quick double take. There’s a woman standing next to it, leaning a gloved hand on its large frame. She looks my age, except that she actually looks like she takes care of herself a little better than I do. She’s wearing an indigo long-sleeved T-shirt and slightly tattered jeans, with long, dark blue hair that falls past her waist in a ponytail. There’s a warm smile on her face, almost like she’s perpetually about to laugh. In fact, she  _is_  giggling a little bit.  
  
“Sorry about that,” she continues, “Patty does that sometimes. She can be sneaky when she wants to.” She grabs both sides of the tropius’ head and touches her nose to her snout. “Patricia, I told you not to wander off like that. I get that they make people feel good, but you can’t just sneak up on them.” The tropius gives off a little chuff, fluffing the woman’s hair like a little breeze. “I know, I know, she totally needs it,” she laughs. She turns back to me, extending a hand. “So, who did Patty decide to grace with her presence today?”  
  
“Uh…” It’s taking me a few seconds to process all of the new information. I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Um, Mattie, my name’s Mattie Kasdan, hi,” I stutter as I reach out my hand to shake hers. The woman’s grip is strong, and it’s only now that I notice that there’s a good bit of muscle to her. “Sorry, had a weird last few days, what was your name again?”  
  
“I hadn’t given it yet, but if you insist,” the woman giggles, pushing her hair behind her ear. “My name’s Aiden Gila. Nice to meet you.” She looks past my shoulder. “And I take it these are your pokémon?”  
  
“Oh, yeah, they – wait, wait, stop stop stop!” I begin to say as I notice Yossele barreling toward me with purpose burning in his eyes. “She’s not sketchy, she’s okay, you can stop!”  
  
He does stop, but he still gives off an air of hesitation. {How do you know that? You don’t know her, and I don’t know her, and I want you to be safe, so I would suggest taking a bit more of a-}  
  
“Is your golett signing?” Aiden interjects, vaulting over the bench I’m sitting on to get closer to Yossele. “Aw man, I wish I could understand what you were saying, big guy, but that’s still super cool! How long have you known how to do that? Who taught you?”  
  
The pose that Yossele freezes in is almost comical in its absurdity. I can tell he was about to say “cautious approach” by his hands, but they haven’t moved. They’re frozen, confused, and I’m not really sure he knows how to respond to the barrage of questions. He slowly turns his head to me, and his expression says it all. He’s completely overwhelmed by this new arrival.  
  
_You and me both, bud._  
  
“You…you do realize he can’t respond to you, right?” I say. “I mean, it’s not like he can speak our language, right?”  
  
“I know, I’m just messing with him,” she says, a toothy smile plastered on her face. “Honestly, most of those were directed at you.”  
  
“But, weren’t you just talking to your tropius like you could understand him?”  
  
A small giggle escapes her lips. “It’s more like, we’ve known each other for seven years, I can pick up what Patty’s putting down. I can’t actually talk to pokémon like that.” Another giggle. “You know anyone who can actually do that, I’d love to meet them.”  
  
_Lord N can do that…_  “That N guy from Unova said he could.”  
  
“Oh, that’s right, he  _did_  say that!” Aiden exclaims, slapping her face in mock surprise. “Man, that dude was nuts! Everything I heard about him on the news, he seemed a little weird, but, like, kinda nice, y’know?”  
  
“I mean he was pretty-”  
  
I’m about to continue, but I feel a hand slam over my mouth, blocking the words from passing my lips. The hand tastes like clay. Yossele.  
  
_Arceus, WHAT AM I DOING? WHAT AM I SAYING?! I CAN’T TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF, IT’D RUIN ME!!_  
  
I look at Aiden. She’s doubled over laughing. “Holy crap, Mattie, what were you about spill? Man, it must be super embarrassing if your golett won’t let you spit it out!”  
  
_She didn’t put it together. Thank Arceus._  Inwardly sighing, I tap Yossele’s arm. He lets me go.  
  
“Yeah, super embarrassing, let me tell ya. I’ll tell you all about it, but not now.” I pat Yossele’s head, silently thanking him for the save. “My overly jumpy friend’s name is Yossele, by the way.  
  
“Oh, nice, like the golem of Geosenge!”  
  
I’m shook. Like, legitimately shook. “No one’s ever been able to get that reference unless I explicitly told them about it,” I mutter. “You know about the folk tale?”  
  
“Hey, when you’re a Ranger-in-training like me, you don’t always have the best reception,” she says. “I had to find something to occupy my time without my PokéGear, so I took to reading about folktales.”  
  
“Wait wait wait,” I exclaim, “slow down a sec.” I take a breath. “You’re a Ranger-in-Training?”  
  
“Uh-huh.”  
  
“Did…did you happen to come here with a person named Gardenia?”  
  
“…I did, in fact,” she says, slowly eyeing me. “How’d you know that?”  
  
Now it’s my turn to start laughing. “Oh, thank Arceus!” I yell, pumping my fists. “I’ve been looking for her all morning! Her – her boyfriend, Roark, he said that she was coming, and that I might be able to tag along with her for a bit because she’s the next Leader in the Gym Challenge I need to face. Do you know where she is right now?”  
  
Aiden’s quiet. Her eyes are darting all across my person, almost like she’s only now trying to understand the type of person she’s been talking to for the past five minutes. I don’t think it’s a hostile sizing up, it just looks like she’s…making sure of something?  
  
Her eyes light up. There’s a little gasp. A moment of realization, if I’ve ever seen one.  
  
“YOU’RE the Trainer Gardenia said we were picking up!” she exclaims. “Oh man, what’re the odds?” She laughs to herself a little bit. “I gotta text Gardenia about this, she’ll definitely be amused.”  
  
“I can’t believe we were actually looking for each other, and we didn’t even know it.”  
  
“I know! Pretty nuts, right?” That grin’s back on her face, and I have to admit, it just looks natural on her. It’s a nice look.  
  
“You think she’d be at the Gym?”  
  
“I mean, probably, that’s where the boyfriend is.”  
  
“Yeah, that makes sense. Wanna walk over there?”  
  
“Works for me!”  
  
The two of us begin to walk over there, our pokémon joining us at our side (or shoulder, in Jonnie’s case). As Yossele approaches, I can’t help but give him a little snarky sign. {See? Told you she wasn’t sketchy.}  
  
{Yeah, I understand, but-}  
  
{Not everyone who’s new and different is sketchy, bud. No need to worry so much.}  
  
{I’m sorry, but that won’t happen.}  
  
{I know, and I love you for it.}  
  
Our little exchange out of the way, we set off toward the Oreburgh Gym, conversation picking up along the way.  
  
“Oh you have a zubat, too?”  
  
“Yes I do! His name’s Jonathan.”  
  
“Aw, that’s such a cute name! And a reference to Dracula at that!”  
  
“You sure know your stuff, Aiden.”  
  
“I try.”  
  
“Do you have any other pokémon?”  
  
“Uh-huh, yeah. They’re resting in their balls at the moment, but you’ll love them, I just know it. My honchkrow – don’t let his puffing up fool you for a second, he’s a huge softie – his name’s Vito, and…”  
  
And as we keep walking and talking towards the next leg of my journey –  _it’s so weird that that’s what this really is now_  – David is the last thing on my mind.


	8. Strike Against Fuego

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New partner, new problems. Especially if those new problems are just old problems coming home to roost.

Gardenia Fletcher is sitting with Roark when we enter the gym, checking her PokéGear. She looks a little impatient, but as soon as she sees us, her eyes light up. I can’t help but notice her eyes darting to me before settling on Aiden. She stands up quickly and rushes over to us.  
  
“Oh good, you found her,” she says to Aiden, before quickly turning to me and shaking my hand. “Hi, Mattie, I’m Gardenia. Roark told me about you already, but it’s nice to meet you in person.”  
  
“Yeah, hi, nice to meet you,” I stammer. “You seem like you’re in a bit of a hurry. Something up?”  
  
“Yeah, is something going on, Ms. Fletcher?” Aiden asks. Her eyes get a little bigger. “Wait, is there something wrong at the site?”  
  
“I’ll explain on the way, but yeah, Aaron just called, and we need to get moving.” Gardenia’s face visibly relaxes as she turns back to Roark and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. “Sorry I couldn’t stay longer like we planned, but you know how these things go.”  
  
“No worries, being a Ranger comes first,” Roark replies. “Let’s plan on meeting up in Solaceon, then. Give it a month or so?”  
  
“I should be free in 3 weeks. We’ll take a weekend.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
  
With another quick kiss on the lips, the two separated, and  _Arceus dammit they’re freaking cute!_  However, as Gardenia walks away from Roark, she starts rapidly brushing her auburn hair behind her ear and sending a text with her other hand. It’s almost supernatural how quickly her mood seems to shift. “Aiden, could you get a couple of your flyers ready to go? We need to get to the Ironworks quickly, see if we can salvage the situation there.”  
  
“You’re okay with bringing Mattie along?” she responded incredulously. “You just met her.”  
  
“It’s fine, I’ll explain what’s going on to her on the way. You can ride Vito; Mattie can ride with me on Patricia.”  
  
Aiden opens her mouth to respond, but seems to think better of it quickly and snaps her jaw shut. With a shrug, she grabs a blue-and-red Pokéball from her belt, and summons forth a beautiful black-and-white bird. It ruffles its white neck ruff as though it’s stretching after a nice nap, and slowly waddles out of the Gym. I can only assume that this is the honchkrow that Aiden had mentioned during our walk.  
  
I feel a tap on the shoulder, and Gardenia is standing next to me. “We need to talk for a second,” she tells me, a grim look on her face.  
  
“Is this about what’s going on at the, uh…”  
  
“Fuego Ironworks, yeah,” she interjects.  
  
“But I thought you were gonna tell both of us about what’s going on while we were going there.”  
  
“I am…” She hesitates. Takes a breath. “There’s some stuff that you might need to know before we get there. It’ll be more meaningful to you than Aiden, and I need to warn you in advance before asking you for help.”  
  
I feel my face contort into a weird sort of scowl. I understand what she’s saying immediately.  
  
“Have they identified themselves?”  
  
“Aaron – he’s an Elite Four member, by the way, he’s in charge of what’s going on there – he gave me their names. Mason Castor and George Pollux. He got them from an anonymous tip. Do you know them?”  
  
 _Arceus dammit, not George!_  “Yeah, they were Opelucid Branch. George is a quintessential Plasma die-hard. I like Mason. He can be reasoned with. George is stupid and more zealous, but at least he’s not a thug. You’re gonna need my help.”  
  
Gardenia arches an eyebrow at that. “You…you don’t know the context of what’s going on at the Ironworks, how – and I mean no offense by this – how do you honestly think you’re going to help with this?”  
  
I sigh. Not out of frustration at Gardenia, because really, how could she know? It was more out of anger that I actually have to do this. “They’re not gonna listen to you,” I say. “Those two, the only authorities they hold are the Plasma Sages, N, and other members.” I take a quick look to check if anyone else is watching. Seeing no one, I begrudgingly open my hoodie slightly, showing Gardenia the design on the inside. Her eyes grow wide with what I can only assume is shock. I nod.  
  
“I’m pretty sure I’ll have some sway, though,” I continue. “Mason will be easy, George will be tough, but since he’s a hard-liner, he won’t have any pokémon on him, so you or I can surprise him with ours if necessary.” I gesture to Yossele, who’s standing beside me silently. It always disconcerts me how, if he’s not moving, he could practically pass for a statue. “Plus, they don’t know that I turned myself in, and I was a hard-liner for a couple of months. I organized rallies for some time. They know me, they respect me, and if you’ll let me, I’ll do what I can to talk them down.”  
  
Gardenia gives me a hard look. I know what I’m doing is potentially undermining the authority of a Ranger. I might be putting myself in a dangerous situation, and she and I both know it, and that’s the last thing she wants anyone to do.  
  
But she also knows I’m right, so I’m not surprised when she slowly gives me a nod.  
  
“Okay. If the situation demands it, you’ll talk them down. But only if there isn’t any chance of physical danger to you or anyone else.”  
  
I nod. “And hey,” I say, trying to force a smile, “maybe I’m wrong and Aaron can solve the situation himself. That’s what I want to happen, anyway.”  
  
Gardenia’s face stretches into a forced smile of her own. “Let’s hope that’s what goes down.”  
  


 

\-----------------------

  
Needless to say, that’s not the situation we find at the Fuego Ironworks.  
  
The flight is somewhat uncomfortable, and I find myself clinging really hard to Gardenia’s torso as she expertly guides Aiden’s tropius through the air. It’s a very bumpy ride, though, and there are long stretches of the trip where my eyes are very, very closed.  
  
Oh, and Yossele is in his Pokéball. Obviously.  
  
“So, Mattie,” Aiden explains, trying to raise her voice over the rushing wind, “we were working on a conservation project at the Ironworks, sponsored by Elias Fuego himself.”  
  
“And here I thought big businesses didn’t care about anything other than money,” I reply. “What’s the project?”  
  
“Ever since Fuego Ironworks went green four years ago,” Gardenia says, “the area’s become a lot more habitable for pokémon. Mr. Fuego’s been working with Aaron Ventura and Burgh Cárdenas to see if they could possibly introduce larvesta into the Ironworks Woods. I’ve been working on the project for a while, and we’re thinking that the effort could succeed without any serious damage to the present ecosystem. Aiden and I were there, getting ready for the introduction ceremony.”  
  
My eyes open a little at that revelation. Burgh has been very vocal about wanting to save the larvesta species for years, as they were nearly driven to extinction hundreds of years ago, so this is an exciting bit of news. “That’s…that’s amazing, Gardenia! That’s incredible news! But why here and not Unova?”  
  
“We thought about it. There isn’t any land in Unova that’s both warm and forested enough for them to thrive anymore, and since larvesta have already been introduced safely in Alola’s Lush Jungle, this was determined to be the next best option.”  
  
“So what happened?” Aiden inquired.  
  
“Some guys broke into the Ironworks and are trying to dismantle it. They’re claiming it’s harming the pokémon in area. Were it five years ago, maybe they’d have a point, but now it’s just as safe for wildlife as anywhere else in the region.”  
  
“Maybe they’re working off old info?” Aiden wonders aloud.  
  
 _Of course they are,_  I think.  _If they’re old Plasma people, they’re only gonna believe information that serves their own purposes. And they’re DEFINITELY gonna go against anything that League officials are involved with. It’s how some of the more unscrupulous Showrunners whipped people into a frenzy. Hell, I did that once or twice before developing a soul._  
  
But “maybe” is all I can think of to say.  
  
Thankfully the journey doesn’t last much more than a few hours, since Aiden’s pokémon are apparently very fast flyers, but my butt is completely numb by the time we arrive. We’re waved down by a tall, lanky man who I can only assume is Aaron.  
  
And thankfully the Ironworks aren’t on fire.  
  
“What’s the sitrep, Aaron?” Gardenia asks, vaulting off the back of the tropius. “Have there been any changes?”  
  
“Nothing, thankfully,” he responds, “save for one little hiccup.” He motions to his leg, and I notice that hiding behind him is the cutest little fuzzy bug I’ve ever seen. I can just make out its little blue eyes poking out of the white fluff on its head focusing on me. Its small orange crest frills are pulled back, and its hair is bristling. Honestly, it looks a little scared.  
  
“Yeah, he’s the little hiccup,” Aaron says, noticing my staring. “Tiny Torch here was gonna help start the larvesta tribe, but the events here have left him a little rattled.” He gives me a look as he bends over to stroke the larvesta’s back. “I recognize you, kid. Mattie Kasdan, right?”  
  
I’m a little surprised he’s so nonchalant about mentioning that he knows who I am. I look to Gardenia for a bit of guidance, but she’s not really paying attention, instead focusing on assessing how the surroundings look and judging whether or not it’s safe. I think Aiden caught it, though, as she’s eyeing me. I try to give her a look to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll explain later,” but I’m not sure she notices. Thankfully, Gardenia, somewhat oblivious, intervenes by taking her aside.  
  
“Why don’t you and your pokémon go and check out the surrounding forest, make sure that the environment hasn’t been agitated,” she says. There’s a quick glance in my general direction. I get it. This is like what Roark did with Blake, only somehow less subtle. And Aiden’s clearly not buying it.  
  
“Why would I need to check the forest?” she inquires. “I feel like the most important area to check is right here.”  
  
“We have some reason to believe that the men who have taken over the Ironworks are former Plasma agents,” Aaron interjects. “They’ve been known to use powerful explosives and chemical agents in the past. We don’t want any harm to come to the environment surrounding the factory. Things are calm here, but we can’t guarantee about the rest of the area.”  
  
“Oooh, okay,” Aiden says. “That…yeah, that makes sense. Okay, will do.” She grabs another pokéball from her belt, waves to her tropius and honchkrow, and darts off into the nearby woods. We wait until she’s out of earshot before we all start talking again.  
  
“Okay, what the hell was that, Gardenia?” he hisses. “We already checked the woods, like, two hours ago. You already know this, I sent you that in the text, so what’s the deal in deceiving her like that?”  
  
“Well, you didn’t say anything to contradict me,” Gardenia responds. “Besides, I think it’s important that Aiden’s not here for dealing with the people inside.”  
  
“And why is that?”  
  
Gardenia pauses for a moment. “Is the Ironworks considered safe at the moment?”  
  
Aaron lets out a short guffaw. “Yeah, it’s safe. These jokers wouldn’t know how to disable the establishment if I’d laid out the instructions in front of them. They were clearly going off dated info.”  
  
“Yeah, kinda figured as much,” I mutter under my breath. I glance at Aaron, gesturing to the Ironworks. “Let me deal with them. I know the two guys in there, I might be able to talk them down. Believe me, you’re not going to, but I might have a chance.”  
  
Aaron’s eyes widen in realization. It doesn’t take him long to piece together why Gardenia had given such a strange suggestion earlier. Of course, she hadn’t told me that they’d searched the woods earlier either, so Aaron’s statement had thrown me for a loop.  
  
Doesn’t matter, though. What’s done is done, and Aaron knows it.  
  
“Well, why do you think you’ll be able to convince them?”  
  
“Simple.”  
  
I take off my hoodie and begin to turn the sleeves inside out, as well as the rest of the sweater. I don’t have the white “V” flaps anymore, since the sweater was adjusted to be passable as civvies years ago, but it still looks like a uniform, albeit a bit more casual. I tighten the hood around my head, adjusting my hair so that none of my naturally red locks are super visible, leaving only the orange tips peeking out. I finish dressing up, mentally berating myself for the billionth time for still hanging on to this stuff after all that’s happened. I take a deep breath, almost instinctively placing my hand on the faded black, white, and blue logo on my chest.  
  
“Because for all intents and purposes, I’m still one of them.”  
  


 

\----------------------------

  
The door to the Ironworks is stuck. Seems like they’ve barricaded themselves in. Makes sense. They don’t want anyone intruding on their work. I quickly summon Yossele.  
  
{I need you to knock on the door as hard and loud as you can,} I sign. {Can you do that for me?}  
  
{Yes I can,} he replies, {but wouldn’t it be bad if they know you have a pokémon? With everything you’ve told me about your former group, wouldn’t it be a bit of a betrayal?}  
  
 _Phew, thank Arceus he was listening in. Was a little worried about that._  {No, because I’m going to recall you to your pokéball as soon as I get their attention. They’ll never know you were here.}  
  
He pauses. Thinks it over for a second. And then with three quick slams of his mud-brick fist, he pounds on the door. I actually worry for a moment that he’s dented the door with his strikes, but thankfully that’s not the case. I wait for a couple of seconds.  
  
“We already told you,” a high-pitched, grating voice cuts in, “we’re not leaving until this plant is shut down! Either you’re gonna do it, or we’re gonna-”  
  
“Hail, fellow Ions!” I yell. “I greet you, a lowly cell from Icirrus. Let me in, so we may speak!”  
  
There’s a pause. I’m banking on using the formal Plasma greeting style might make them drop their guard, but’s it’s been three years since I’ve used it, and I’m not sure I got the words right. However, after about thirty seconds, I hear some shuffling, and feel the door begin to loosen. I turn to Gardenia and Aaron, silently motioning for them to get out of sight. They do so, and I can’t help but notice their faces. Aaron has a weird smirk on his face, and I get the sense that he’s sort of impressed, but maybe a little weirded out by the display. Hell, he might even be a little jealous that he couldn’t figure out how to do it, but I could.  
  
Gardenia, though…there’s definitely some disgust on her face. I don’t think it’s entirely at me, since she’s not looking at my face, but at my uniform…but I can’t be sure.  _I’ll have to ask her about that._  
  
As soon as they clear out, I retract Yossele back into his ball and wait. Thankfully, it’s not too long before the front door opens slightly. I see a dark brown eye looking at me from the other side. It widens after a moment.  
  
“Mattie?” a lower voice asks. “Mattie Kasdan? What’re you doing here?”  
  
“Hey Mason,” I reply, silently happy that he answered the door instead of George. “I was in the area, heard that something was going down. I wanted to see what was going on.”  
  
“Well, come in, come in!” he exclaims, pushing the door open with his large frame. “I’m a little – hurgh – surprised you kept the cowl. Not many have.” Having opened the door enough for me to slip through, I can finally get a good look at him. He’s gotten a little more toned since I last saw him, with a good bit of muscle showing from his orange T-shirt.  
  
Which I notice immediately, since that means he’s not wearing the Plasma cowl.  
  
“Yourself included, I take it,” I say as I slip into the building. He gives a sheepish smile, quickly closing the door behind him. “Wonder why you’re on a mission in your civvies.”  
  
“Yeah, that’s a bit of a long story,” he sighs, his eyes looking towards the ground. “Being honest, I think I was a little bit duped into coming here. George said he wanted us to go to Sinnoh, just to see some sights, take a nice vacation together, and then he fucking ropes me in on this! He got a package and mission, like, two days ago from some former higher-up – who wants to remain anonymous, mind you, they don’t want to be exposed – and he wanted me to do it with him. ‘For old times’ sake’, you know?”  
  
“Yeah, roping your best friend back into crime would make things a little awkward,” I attempt to joke. It’s not funny, so neither of us laugh. “So…what  _is_  George trying to do here?”  
  
“I mean, I think he already said it when we heard the knocks,” Mason replies, checking further inside. I turn my head to where he’s looking. I don’t see George at all. “He’s trying to shut the Ironworks down. Claims it’s a danger to the pokémon in the area. Said that the anonymous higher-up ordered that it had to be today. Wonder why that is?”  
  
“Because a bunch of reasons,” I reply. I hesitate for a second, then continue, albeit much more quietly. “Look, I get that you two are friends, and that George thinks that what he’s doing is for the greater good, but this isn’t okay. You’re trespassing, first off, and if you really look at how the Ironworks have been operating for a while, it’s the safest for pokémon that it’s ever been. And, like, even when it was spewing sludge – and I don’t deny it did – pokémon lived and thrived here! So, what’s the point in trying to get this shut down?”  
  
“I don’t know!” Mason hisses. “It’s bad enough that I’m here against my will, but I feel even more like shit because I sent a fucking anonymous tip to the  _League_  behind George’s back! Arceus, I feel like I’m fucking betraying my boyfriend, but, like,  _what else am I supposed to do_?!”  
  
Oh. Wait. Not just friend, but  _boyfriend_? That’s…a lot to take in. Not sure how to feel about that.  
  
However, that actually answers a nagging question I’ve had all day. And gives me an idea on how to get Mason out of this.  
  
“Does…does George know about the tip?”  
  
“No, of course not.”  
  
I take a deep breath, then continue. “Okay, being honest myself, I’m not actually here by chance. I knew you were here being disruptive, and I wanted to try to get you out. Or, at least, just George at this point.” Another breath. “If you actually  _did_  tip the League, it sure as hell worked. Both Aaron Ventura, an Elite Four member, and Gardenia Fletcher, a Gym Leader and Ranger, are outside right now. The only reason they’re not talking right now is because I know that George doesn’t like to listen to people he doesn’t know.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “I have two questions. One, are you still against the concept of Trainers having pokémon?”  
  
He lets out a guffaw. “Mattie, I haven’t been living under a rock like George has. I’ve figured out that Plasma’s ideology was a front by now. If you have pokémon, I won’t be mad.”  
  
“Cut straight to the point. I like it.” I pull out a pokéball. “No noise, Jonnie. I need you to be quiet until I say so.” I summon the zubat, who thankfully follows my instructions while perching on my shoulder. I take out my PokéGear. “Two, are you okay with George getting in trouble? Because I might be able to get you out of trouble, but there’s no way in hell I can do the same for George at this point.”  
  
I can tell that this is a much more difficult question for Mason, as he brushes my hand off and turns away from me, starting to pace. I’ve known these two ever since the organization I’d originally joined became a part of Plasma, and they’ve always been incredibly close.  _This must be so hard for him_.  
  
He turns to me. “I…could…I want you to tell the League to be lenient on him. I know he’ll hate me for doing this, but I gotta do what I think is best for us. H-he’s doing what he thinks is right, you know that.” He looks down at his feet again. “I don’t want him to suffer for this, but…I’ve lived with this for way too long. I can’t keep telling him that it’s alright to keep obsessing over Plasma. I love the guy, but I…I can’t do this anymore.”  
  
I nod. I can’t help but think of when I went to the Icirrus police station and ratted. I didn’t have any such qualms. I was so selfish when I told them everything. And honestly, it’s because I didn’t – and don’t – have a George like…Mason does, apparently. Typing a quick message to Gardenia, letting her know everything that Mason just told me, I walk up to him again. I give him a hug, which thankfully he returns.  
  
“I’ll do what I can.”

\-------------------------  
  
The heat inside the building is starting to get to me a bit. I ask Mason why George hadn’t answered me at the door when I knocked (while also mentioning that it was Yossele who’d actually done the knocking), to which he replied that he freaked out a little bit when he heard the formal Plasma greeting. He was apparently in his civvies as well, but had brought a uniform because  _of course he would_. Dude’s a fanatic. Apparently, he’s changing.  _Because of course he is_.  
  
“How do you want to play this, Mason?” I ask, cracking my knuckles. “I can talk all I want, but when I came in here, I was banking on convincing you first, then riding the momentum to convince George. Obviously, that’s not happening, so do you have a plan B?”  
  
“The bones of one,” he replies, fishing something out of a bag he’s stashed in a corner. “The only way you’ll be able to get George to leave is if you can convince him that this isn’t what Plasma would want.”  
  
“Even though this is  _totally_  what Plasma would do,” I mutter.  
  
“Regardless, the fact that you’re wearing the cowl is a start. He’ll trust a face he knows more than an anonymous person who randomly decides to text him.”  
  
“But I was just a Grunt, and they’re an admin, or something.”  
  
“An admin with connections to big business,” he says, producing an already opened cardboard box from the bag. I take a look at the packaging, and find the brand on the backside.  
  
And wouldn’t you know it, it’s Paulson Shipping.  
  
“ _I knew it!_ ” I hiss. “I  _knew_  that he was related to Plasma somehow.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Mason asks.  
  
“I’ve run into this guy, David, a couple of times since I’ve been here. Fanatical Plasma supporter, huge ass, and – get this – he’s a Paulson.”  
  
“And that means…what, exactly?”  
  
“Think about it. How would anyone know that you were in the area unless  _they were in the area too_?” I slap my hand against my forehead. “And to think he has the gall to call me out on my actions, when his family is clearly acting illegally!”  
  
“…y’know, that makes a little too much sense,” he mumbles. “Especially considering he got a new uniform in the box. Don’t think he paid much attention to the branding.”  
  
“Would he care if he knew about this?”  
  
“More than you’d think, actually.”  
  
“Then we have a plan. Let’s find him.”  
  
Mason leads me further into the building. All across the floor, I notice floor panels with a conspicuous arrow design. Mason tells me to avoid those, since apparently, they send people flying if they’re stepped on. Meant to prevent robbers from finding valuables.  _Makes sense to me, at least. A little convoluted, though._  After a little more walking, carefully avoiding any arrow panels, we find a side hallway behind some boxes.  
  
And there’s George – in full Plasma regalia – on the ground, holding his ankle like he tripped.  
  
“Ah, shit, can you help me up? I must’ve –” George stops upon seeing me. I see his eyes scanning me from behind his long, sandy brown hair. Looking at my uniform in particular. “Uh, hey Mattie. It’s, uh…it’s been a while.”  
  
“It has,” I say, offering my hand to help him up. “Keeping yourself outta trouble?”  
  
“I mean, so far I’ve been doing alright,” he replies, grabbing my hand, “but I think I twisted my –”  
  
“Let me stop you right there, George,” I interrupt. “I’m not here to make nice. I’m here to get you to leave the Ironworks, and you’re not in a whole lot of position to argue.”  
  
“…the fuck do you mean, you’re making me leave?”  
  
“I mean, I think I’m stating the obvious here,” I continue. “You’re trespassing, you dragged Mason into your shenanigans, and to top it off, you clearly don’t realize that pokémon are  _thriving_  here.”  
  
“Oh really?” George replies, now leaning on Mason’s shoulder. “Take a look at that crack in the wall.”  
  
Curious, I glance over where he motioned. There is, indeed, a crack in the wall. I slowly approach it and peek my head in.  
  
There’s a nest. A small collection of scrap metal and burnt grass is collected together in a bundle, nestled into a dark patch near the back. And from this little heap of stuff, four pairs of yellow cat eyes look back at me. One of them is a little bigger than the others, and it is staring at me intently.  
  
“Huh,” I mumble. “That’s something I didn’t expect to see.”  
  
“I know, right?” George exclaims. “That family of shinx is trapped in the crumbling walls of this contemptible establishment. What more reason do you need for it to be shut down?!”  
  
“… dude.” I walk over to him and place a hand on his shoulder, pointing to the crack in the wall. “That’s a  _nest_  in there. Those shinx  _live_  here. They definitely don’t seem like they’re in danger.”  
  
“Are you kidding me?” George exclaims. “They’re scared shitless!”  
  
“Maybe because some unfamiliar weirdo just barged into their territory and started making a scene!” I say, feeling my voice begin to rise. “You ever thought that you might be the one causing the problem here?”  
  
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He turns to Mason. “She’s gotta be kidding, right?”  
  
“Look, I think she might have a point, George,” Mason responds. “You  _did_  make a point of yelling constantly about how you were gonna ‘shut the plant down’, and if they consider it their home, then maybe –”  
  
“Oh sure, take her side,” George interjects. “You’re supposed to be my support here.”  
  
“You dragged me into this, you know!”  
  
“You never said you didn’t wanna do this, Mason!”  
  
“Because you never let me get a fucking word in edgewise, George!” Mason is leaning in, getting right in George’s face. “You always fucking do this, and I’m not taking this shit from you anymore! What you’re doing is wrong, and I’m fucking done!” He pushes George away from him. “I’m not gonna keep kowtowing to you. Did it for three fucking years, and I’m sick of it. Plasma is done. It’s high time you figured that out.” He produces the box and throws it at George’s feet. “Oh, and they’re taking dirty fucking money, so there goes your moral high ground.”  
  
George stares at the box. He takes in the Paulson Shipping logo. Then he looks at Mason.  
  
Back to the box.  
  
Back to Mason.  
  
Then he turns to me.  
  
There are tears streaming down his face.  
  
“Did you put him up to this?” he asks me. “Did you get him to betray me?”  
  
I take a breath.  
  
“Plasma betrayed all of us first. They never really had the interests of people and pokémon at heart.”  
  
“How dare you say that!”  
  
“ _THEY KILLED KOBY!!!_ ” I can’t stop myself from screaming at him. “They never cared about us, and they killed my best friend through their own negligence!” I get right up in his face. “By being here, by doing this, you’re ignoring every awful thing Plasma ever did for their phony cause.”  
  
“Then why are you wearing the uniform?”  
  
I want to respond. I want to tell him that I never believed in the same ideals as he did. But the words are stuck in my throat. His words make me feel weird. Sad. Ashamed, even.  
  
 _I can’t...I can’t think about that right now._  
  
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” I’m done playing nice, so I grab Yossele’s pokéball and summon him. “Yosie, grab his hands for me. We’re done here.”  
  
George gives me a look that I can only describe as horror as Yossele forcibly yanks his hands behind his back. “Traitor,” he spits at me.  
  
I turn away from him, wiping my eyes to get rid of the tears welling up. “Let’s go.”  
  
It doesn’t take us long to reach the front entrance of the Ironworks, and Gardenia and Aaron are there to meet us. I also notice that there are some policemen here. Wordlessly, George and Mason are taken in by the cops, George in cuffs. It’s a sad sight.  
  
“That was really well done, Mattie,” I hear Gardenia say. “I had my doubts, but you clearly knew what you were doing.”  
  
“Only because I knew them personally,” I reply, summoning Yossele from his ball. “If it had just been any two random schmoes, I’m not sure it would’ve gone that well. I was lucky.”  
  
“Maybe, but I’m still impressed that it all went…” She stops talking. I see her face drop.  
  
“What’s up?” I ask. I turn to where she’s looking.  
  
And I see Aiden, having just re-emerged from the woods, staring at me. More specifically, she’s staring at my hoodie.  
  
And it’s right around now that I realize that I haven’t turned it back around yet.  
  
“Mattie…what the fuck am I looking at?”


	9. Sparks of a Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yossele talks with the new Trainer's team, a new member joins the fold, and Mattie and Aiden have a reckoning.

<\------------------------------------------>

  
It’s been a few hours since we’ve left the Fuego Ironworks place. The one that Mattie calls Gardenia says that it’s not going to be possible to make it to Eterna City before nightfall, and she knows a place to camp out for the night. We’ve been walking there for a couple of hours now.  
  
It’s been very quiet.  
  
“I don’t like this,” I hear Patricia, the tropius, grunt to me. “Aiden is not normally this quiet, even when it’s just us.”  
  
“Mattie can be this quiet,” I say. “She can be quiet for a long time. I’m used to it. What makes this so strange for you?”  
  
“She likes to do stuff with us. Play sounds from her wrist thing, train while we walk, talk about the squiggles she likes to look at. At least have some of my other friends around her than just Vito.”  
  
“I dunno, I kinda like this,” the large honchkrow responds as he flies towards us. “Don’t get me wrong, Aides is supah fun to be around, but she gets loud after a while. Hurts the ol’ noggin’, y’know?”  
  
“You talk too much.”  
  
“Ah, ya know you love me.” He flies over Patricia’s head, matching her speed. “And how many times I gotta tell ya, Trish, the squiggles are called ‘words’. She buys books with words in ‘em. Learn t’ read, won’t ya?”  
  
“…oh, right, that’s what they’re called. ‘Words.’ Thanks for reminding me.”  
  
We all laugh at Patricia’s confusion for a moment, including Patricia herself.  
  
“I can read,” I tell Vito. “Mattie taught me how while I was learning to sign.”  
  
“What’s sign? Izzat that weird thing you do with yer hands that your friend somehow understands?”  
  
“Yes, it is. She knew it because her father can’t hear very well, so she taught me. Can you sign?”  
  
“Nah, don’t have hands,” he caws. “Nice o’ ya to ask, though.”  
  
“I try to be. Me being rude makes it more difficult for Mattie, so I try to make a good first impression.”  
  
“Heh, good stuff. Glad to know ya like her. I can tell ya horror stories ‘bout some other Trainers we’ve met, so ‘s good to know the new girl’s a good one.”  
  
“I could not agree more.”  
  
After that, there is quiet again, but it’s more comfortable now. The amiable silence doesn’t last too long, though, as Jonathan comes flitting over to the group.  
  
“Hey, back from exploring the open air, kind?” Vito says. “How ya likin’ the outside world?”  
  
“Everything sounds super cool!” Jonathan screeches. “The air goes ‘whoosh’ all the time, the big tree things are all ‘crunch crunch’ and ‘swoosh swoosh’, and I think I heard some ‘pat pat’ of feet. Lots of cool sounds.”  
  
“Good job, kid!” Vito exclaims, patting his back with the edge of his wing. He turns to me. “Damn, even without eyes, that kid’s a good scout. Imagine how he’ll be when he evolves.”  
  
“Actually!” the zubat continues. “Actually, I think some of the ‘pat pats’ are familiar. I think I heard the same footfalls while we were in the Ironworks place.”  
  
This gets my attention. “Is it a human or a pokémon?” I ask.  
  
“Do humans walk on four feet?”  
  
“I don’t think so.”  _Definitely a pokémon, then._  “Where are they?”  
  
“I’m, uh…I’m not good at directions, but I think behind us?”  
  
I stop in my tracks and do a quick about-face. I scan the forest around us, trying to focus on any unique energy signatures, just like how I used to do in the Dragonspiral Tower. In doing so, I notice a signature stop moving when I look in its direction.  
  
It looks…familiar somehow.  
  
“Ya see anything, Yossele?” I hear Vito yell.  
  
“I think so, but it’s nothing to worry about.”  
  
“Okay, because I think the humans are talking about making camp. ‘S getting dark soon. Might wanna catch back up!”  
  
I give a quick nod, and race back to the group.  
  


<\----------------------------------------->

  
“You sure you don’t need any help finding firewood?”  
  
“Mattie, I know this area like the back of my hand. I’ll be fine.”  
  
“I know, but like, are you  _sure_?”  
  
“Look, I know what you’re trying to do, but I’m not going to let you do it. You need to talk to her about it.”  
  
“Arceus dammit, I  _know_ , Gardenia, I  _know_! It’s just, it’s really awkward, and everyone’s told me I shouldn’t tell anyone, so I don’t really think it’s a good idea to–”  
  
“It’s not, but you need to. Look, it was an honest mistake, and there are definitely worse people that this could’ve happened with, but it’s out there now, and you can’t keep avoiding talking about it.”  
  
“…yeah, you’re right.”  
  
“Okay. I’ll be back before you know it. Hey Aiden, I’m getting some firewood! You and Mattie hold down the fort while I’m gone, alright?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Good luck, Mattie.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
 _I’ll need it._  
  


\--------------------------------

  
The silence between us is deafening.  
  
Neither of us are even looking at each other. Aiden’s perched on her tropius’ back, chomping on a berry she collected while we were walking. Jonnie is resting on my shoulder, while Yossele is walking around the tree line. Me, I’m just sitting with my back against a nearby tree, twiddling my thumbs while I try – and fail – to find something to say.  
  
Thankfully, Aiden is a little less awkward than me.  
  
“So,” she says in between bites. “That stuff you were gonna say about N. I’m thinking ‘embarrassing’ was the wrong word to use there, huh?”  
  
“Maybe.”  
  
“Maybe ‘incriminating’ would’ve been a better word for it.”  
  
“…yeah.”  
  
“Does Gardenia know?”  
  
“All of the League members do.”  
  
“Oh, so you were only hiding it from me. Yeah, that’s nice.”  
  
“Look, you’re not the only person I haven’t told that I’ve met here–”  
  
“That doesn’t matter!” Aiden pushes off Patricia’s back and slowly starts making her way towards me. “I don’t know what you really think of me, but, like, I didn’t decide to become Ranger just because I like to travel. I’m not stupid. You  _had_  to know I was gonna figure it out sooner or later.” She plops down in front of me. “So…what gives? Why the secrecy? Why lie to me?”  
  
“I…” I can’t look at her in the eye. “It’s not just something you… _tell_  people, y’know? And we just met, like,  _today_! You think it’s a good idea to link yourself with a group that tried to topple a damn government right when you meet someone? ‘Hey, I’m Mattie, oh, and I used to be a member of Team Fucking Plasma, nice to meet you!’ Like, how did you expect me to think that was gonna go?”  
  
“Well, were you ever planning on telling me?”  
  
“We just met! I’m not gonna tell you everything about myself  _day one_ , am I?”  
  
“Okay, fine. I get that. But – and this is just a hypothetical here – if we were to travel together after this, were you ever going to tell me?”  
  
“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t think about it, but you gotta understand–”  
  
“Answer the question, Mattie.”  
  
“I think you’re being a little bit unreasonable–”  
  
“Mattie, look at me.”  
  
My head snaps up at the force behind her words. Her face is only about a foot away from mine. She’s leaning forward, her dark blue eyes boring into me. It’s hard to read her expression. I don’t know if I’m feeling her breath hit my face, but my cheeks are suddenly very hot.  
  
“Let’s try this again,” she continues. Her speech is slow. Deliberate. “Were you ever going to tell me that you were a member of Team Plasma?”  
  
“…no,” I mutter. “I wasn’t.”  
  
“Okay.” The look of disappointment on her face is crushing. “Why not?”  
  
“I…” My eyes fall from her face again. I can’t bear to look at her. “I didn’t…we just met, and…” I feel myself curling up into a ball. “I didn’t want you to think I’m a bad person.”  
  
“Why would I think you were a bad person?”  
  
I let out a snort. “I mean, come the fuck on! Plasma? Evil gang? Tried to take over Unova?”  
  
“…yeah, okay. That makes sense. Considering, y’know…everything.”  
  
“That’s not a joke, Aiden. I’ve only met, like, five people other than the Gym Leaders since I got here, and I didn’t wanna ruin things because you thought I was evil.”  
  
“I didn’t think it was.”  
  
I glance up at Aiden again, and she seems…looser, somehow. More open. She’s leaning back a little bit, giving me some space. Her arms, crossed just a moment before, are resting on the ground. There’s still a scowl on her face, but the anger I saw before has lessened somewhat.  
  
“You think I don’t get it when people are worried that their friends will consider them evil?” she asks. “Remember, Unova wasn’t the only region with an evil gang. We had Aqua and Magma, what, seven years ago? Some of my older friends joined up.” She takes a breath. “I’m mad because you were sorta lying to me, not because you were a part of Plasma.”  
  
“I…I don’t understand.”  
  
“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious.” She leans forward again, but her eyes aren’t daggers anymore. “Like, if you were actually a bad person, like the ones the news always covered, I would’ve expected you to try that ‘liberation’ BS with me and my pokémon, and wouldn’t be caught dead consorting with a Gym Leader.”  
  
“You’re more right than you know,” I say. “Some of the members in my branch accosted people who were going into Brycen’s Gym, and a few nutjobs legit swore off all his movies because he was a Gym Leader.”  
  
“Geez, overreaction much?”  
  
“You’re one to talk.”  
  
I immediately regret my words. That little jab clearly hurt, as Aiden’s face turns to the ground. “I sorry,” I exclaim, I didn’t mean to–”  
  
“No, you’re right,” she says, letting out a deep sigh. “ _I’m_ the one that should be sorry. I w _as_  overreacting, and you’re right for calling me on it. It’s just, y’know…”  
  
“You don’t like people hiding things from you.”  
  
“Mhm,” she nods. “I’ve gotten burned before. Don’t want it to happen again.”  
  
That piques my curiosity a little. “Care to elaborate?”  
  
“Not really, if you don’t mind.”  
  
“That’s fair.” It’s quiet again. The silence is no longer uncomfortable, but I still feel a little awkward about the whole situation.  _I should probably clear the air a little._  
  
“Back to the Plasma stuff, though,” I start, “that ‘liberation’ stuff wasn’t why lot of people were in Plasma. Some people were just in it to feel bigger than everyone else. They were bullies, thugs, just the worst kind of people. The common Grunt that actually believed in the ‘liberation’ BS was a rare breed.”  
  
“What about you?” Aiden asks. “Did  _you_  ever believe it?”  
  
“Not…really, I guess?” I say. “I mean, I was a kid member of a pokémon rights group that was taken over by Plasma, I didn’t even join when the ‘liberation’ thing was even a thing.”  
  
“And yet…”  
  
“…and yet the Plasma people were charismatic. They were driven. And…they were convincing. It wasn’t hard to buy into their narrative, at least a little. And…I dunno, maybe I  _was_  convinced for a bit.” Aiden’s face grows more serious again. “Not anymore, though,” I stammer. “That only lasted, like, a month!”  
  
“I dunno, I feel like some of that must’ve stuck a little bit,” Aiden says.  
  
“More than you know…”  
  
I see Aiden grimace a little bit at my words. “Shoot, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to bring up unhappy memories.”  
  
“No, you’re fine. It’s been a little hard to avoid it the last couple of days anyway.”  
  
“Guessing the people occupying the Ironworks were old Plasma people?”  
  
“Nailed it. Hell, I knew them.”  
  
“Heh. No wonder Gardenia pegged you to take care of it.”  
  
“Yeah, guess so.”  
  
I wait a beat. “You still angry about me keeping stuff from you?” I ask. “Don’t wanna pry, but, y’know, you were pretty pissed about that.”  
  
“I mean, you had an okay reason,” she replies, “but that sorta thing  _is_  kind of important to me.” She places her hand under her chin. “I’m not, like, mad, per se, but if we’re gonna be friends – which, by the way, I’m hoping we are – there’s a little bit of a trust thing, y’know?”  
  
“That’s…fair,” I say. “Yeah, I can work with that.”  
  
“Then let’s.” She extends her hand. There’s a smile on her face again. It’s not as wide as before, but it’s still genuine. “Can we do that? Can we have a trust…thing…Arceus, that was awkward phrasing.”  
  
“Yeah, it was,” I giggle.  I grasp her hand with mine. “I can work with it. Let’s be friends, shall we?”  
  
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” she giggles.  
  
I retract my hand, happy that the tension has mostly been lifted.  In the back of my mind, though…I can’t help but feel that Aiden’s not totally reciprocating. I don’t want to mention it to her, though.  _We’ve only just met, after all.  
_  
Thankfully, I feel Yossele’s mud-clay fingers tapping my arm, getting me out of my head.  
  
“What’s up, Yosie?” I ask him.  
  
{There’s a pokémon that’s been following us for a while,} Yossele signs. {He’s right over by that tree, watching us.} He points over to the trees by where Patricia has been laying this whole time. I focus on that space, and yeah, I see a pair of big yellow eyes looking back at us.  
  
“Hey, you guys see something?” Aiden asks.  
  
“Yeah, there’s a pokémon watching us,” I respond. And now that I’m looking at those eyes more closely, they seem familiar. “Is that…is that a luxio?”  
  
“I think so, but why would one be here? The shinx family usually doesn’t come this far north.”  
  
{Jonnie noticed him when he was flying after we left the Ironworks building,} Yossele says. {He’s been following us for hours.}  
  
“That long?” The luxio starts to leave his hiding place and step into the clearing. He keeps his head close to the ground and his shoulders up, like he’s trying to stalk me, but his eyes are more curious than aggressive. It’s actually kinda cute.  
  
I’m starting to think he’s trying to tell me something.  
  
“Hey buddy,” I say, slowly inching towards him. “You look like you recognize me. Are you the little guy from the Ironworks? Then where’s the rest of your family?”  
  
{He says that he does recognize you,} Yossele signs, {but not just from the Ironworks.}  
  
“What’re you talking about, Yosie? The only time I’ve ever seen a live luxio was in the Ironworks.”  
  
{I recognize his energy signature.}  
  
“How? You never got a good look at the shinx family in–”  
  
And that’s when it hits me.  
  
 _How could he have known that this luxio was male if he’d never seen him, unless…_  
  
“Holy shit.” I drop into a squat as the luxio draws closer. “You’re…you’re the shinx I met before, aren’t you?”  
  
As soon as I say that, the luxio drops all pretense of slinking around and trots over to where I’m standing. I gingerly reach out my hand, and he immediately starts rubbing his fluffy mane onto it. His purring sounds like a revving motorcycle.  
  
“Arceus, that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Aiden squeals.  
  
“You know he’s claiming you as his territory, right?” Aiden and I jump at the voice of Gardenia, arms dirty and full of branches. “They usually do that exclusively with family in the wild, but if there’s a human they like, that’s how they express it.” She smiles. “I’m glad to see that you two cleared the air in my absence.”  
  
“Me too,” I say under my breath.  
  
“Couldn’t agree more,” Aiden exclaims. “Hey Mattie, are you gonna catch him? I think he’s saying he wants to join you.”  
  
“Hm…I dunno…” I mockingly rest my chin on my hand. “I’ll have to think about it…”  
  
“Oh, come on, he  _loves_  you!” Aiden seems back to being the cheerful person I’d met earlier today.  _Let’s keep it that way._  
  
“I know, I know, I’m joking!” I reassure her. I turn back to the luxio. “Well, whaddaya say? Do you want to join me?”  
  
Suddenly, he bolts away from my hand. He hisses at me, showing his teeth, and starts hopping up and down on all fours.  
  
“Okay, now I’m really confused,” I mutter. “When my purrloin hisses at home, that means he’s mad.” I turn to Yossele. “Yosie, can you translate for me? I’m getting seriously mixed signals here.”  
  
{He does want to join you,} he says, {but not before he proves himself to you.}  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
{He says that the first time you met, he was weak. He wants to show you how strong he’s gotten since then.}  
  
I’m…not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, the luxio is definitely in much better shape than the first time I saw him, so it stands to reason he’d be much better equipped for battle. Plus, he’s a  _luxio_  now, not a shinx. On the other, though, I don’t want to hurt him unnecessarily. It would be needlessly cruel and inhumane to do something like that.  
  
And Yossele sees right into me.  
  
{Don’t worry, Mattie,} he signs. {I don’t need to hurt him, and he doesn’t need to hurt me. He just needs to prove to you that he can hold his own now.} He cracks his knuckles and taps his sigil, lighting the runes on his left arm. {I think this is meant to be a demonstration of his skills.}  
  
“A demonstration, huh?” I look to Aiden and Gardenia. Aiden looks excited, and is practically bouncing up and down with glee. Gardenia, on the other hand, is waiting to see how I react. She’s definitely interested, that’s for sure, but that shade of disgust has crept onto her face again. I make a mental note to seriously talk to her about that.  
  
 _Later, though. I have a luxio to engage with._  
  
“Yossele, Iron Defense and stance up! Let’s show this kitty cat that we mean business too!”  
  
Yossele practically jumps into his boxing stance, his form glowing with the protective blue flame of Iron Defense. The luxio responds in kind, assuming his stalking position from before while blue sparks begin to arc through his mane.  
  
“Alright, let’s start simple, Yosie. Hit him with a Pound!”  
  
Yossele begins to lumber towards the luxio, slowly gaining speed through the thrusters in his arms. The luxio, however, is much faster, and bolts towards Yosie at lightning speed. His body becomes surrounded by a harsh field of blue electricity as he rams into Yossele with an impressive-looking Spark.  
  
However, Yosie isn’t any worse for wear. The arm that he maneuvered to intercept the hit isn’t even the least bit scorched.  _Being a ground-type against an electric-type has its perks._  I let out a chuckle, and I hear Yossele do the same. We’ve got the luxio right where we want him.  
  
Because Yossele doesn’t even know Pound.  
  
“Psyche! Shadow Punch, let’s go!”  
  
Yossele whirls around on his stubby legs and decks the luxio with a fiery backhanded fist, knocking him to the ground about five feet away. However, much to my surprise (and secret pleasure), he’s quick to right himself, practically jumping back to his feet. I could swear that were he human, he’d be smirking at me.  
  
 _I like this guy._  
  
“Alright, no more tricks!” I command. “Mud Slap, throw him off!”  
  
However, as Yossele is about to blast a chunk of dirt in his face, the luxio’s eyes suddenly light up. A pair of green, pulsating beams leave his irises and slam into the golett before he can react. He gets pushed back a few feet by the attack, and as he attempts to try Mud Slap again, he loses his footing and faceplants onto the ground.  
  
“Well that’s new,” I stammer. “Yosie, get up!”  
  
He’s able to do so, but not before the luxio is able to lunge in and start chomping on Yossele’s arm. He lets out a cry that sounds like grinding gears as he attempts to shake the luxio off of him.  
  
“Stomping Tantrum, slam him into the ground!”  
  
Hearing my words, Yossele begins to frantically wave his arm up and down, slamming the luxio into the ground repeatedly like a ragdoll. After three slams, the cat’s jaws finally slacken, and he lands about a foot away from Yossele with his feet under him. His fur is dirty from the blows, but he still looks okay.  
  
 _Maybe good enough for the new move? I’ll risk it._  
  
“Alright, let’s end this quickly. Yosie, get under him and use Mega Punch!”  
  
Immediately, Yossele blasts his turbines behind him like twin shotguns, landing right in the luxio’s face. Almost as fast as one can blink, he plants a jet-propelled fist right under his opponent’s snout, unleashing enough force to send both pokémon airborne. Yossele is able to land in his feet.  
  
The luxio, however, does not.  
  
Thankfully, even though his body slams into the dirt with a not-insignificant amount of force, the luxio is able to prop himself up again. However, once he has his feet under him, he doesn’t resume his battle stance. Instead, he sits on his haunches and stares at the both of us, his tail wagging behind him. Yossele drops his Iron Defense aura, and staggers over to me. I can tell that the beam attack has left him a little dazed.  
  
{I think…he’s good,} he shakily signs. {I’m done. He’s satisfied.}  
  
“I can tell, buddy,” I laugh. “He did a number on you!” I walk over to the luxio. “That was pretty impressive! You’ve convinced me.” I smile at him. “Now do you want to join me?”  
  
The luxio nods in response.  
  
“Alright, then, buddy,” I say as I reach for one of my newly-purchased pokéballs. “Put ‘er there!” The luxio happily taps the button with his paw, and is instantaneously converted into red energy and retracted. It doesn’t take long before the ball stops vibrating.  
  
“Welcome to the team, Raiju,” I say, releasing him once again. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun together, I can already tell.” The luxio lets out a quick yelp in response, and starts rubbing his mane against my leg.  
  
“Gotta admit, Mattie, that was impressive,” Aiden exclaims. She quickly walks over to the newly-christened Raiju and starts scratching him behind his ears. “For such a little cutie, your new friend packs a hell of a punch.”  
  
“Indeed he does,” I chuckle.  
  
“Hey girls,” Gardenia, “sorry to spoil the fun, but I’ve been carrying this tinder for a while now, and I’d like to get a fire started. Been running on an empty stomach for a little too long. Anyone wanna help?”  
  
Not wanting to go much longer with a proper meal ourselves, we both jump at the chance. Yossele also helps with transferring the tinder to the woodpile, and not long after, a little campfire is burning in the middle of our little clearing.  
  
And the fire’s reflection does a little dance in my new friend’s big, yellow eyes.


	10. Tainted Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mattie learns about the long-lasting effects of being a part of an evil team ... not that she didn't know that already.

Raiju has claimed me. As I wake up the next morning in the tent we’d set up, I feel his fluffy head pressed up against my back. I reach over and scratch behind his ears. He tries to squirm out of the way, but the loud purring suggests that he’s enjoying it.  
  
“Wake up, sleepy-heads,” I hear Aiden mumble from her sleeping bag. “The motorboat kitty demands it.” Her long blue hair is jumbled around her face as she sits up. It looks like a rat ran through it all night.  
  
“You look like you’ve been living in the wild for years,” I giggle, rolling out of my own sleeping bag.  
  
“I  _have_  been living in the wild for years,” she replies with a smile. “What, do I have something on my face?” She flashes me a little wink.  
  
“Messing with the new girl already, are we, Aiden?” Gardenia says. She’s already up, and is in the process of packing her sleeping bag into its case. “Good, means you’re awake. Why don’t you take some of that morning energy and help me break down the tent?”  
  
“Well, she started it,” Aiden laughs as she starts rolling up her own sleeping bag. She lets out a quick whistle, and immediately I notice her other pokémon start grabbing parts of the tent.  
  
“Wait, wait, hold up a second, I’m still inside!” I exclaim. I grab my sleeping bag and bolt out of the tent, mere seconds before the entire structure begins to collapse in on itself. As soon the fabric hits the ground, though, Gardenia and Aiden’s pokémon start helping clean up the pile. Patricia and a stout grotle that I can only guess belongs to Gardenia gather up the heavy equipment, while a roserade pulls the pitons out of the earth with roots it conjured straight from the earth. I also notice a small, energetic yellow bird chirping excitedly from a distance, hopping up and down while shaking its pom-pom-like wings like a cheerleader.  
  
“Oh, I see you’ve met Sylph,” Aiden says, carrying a couple of metal poles. “She’s a peach. No matter what Alolan Honey I feed her, she’s always a little much in the mornings. Always nice for a pick-me-up, though,” she laughs.  
  
“Wait, you’ve been to Alola?”  
  
“Mhm. I was born in Hoenn, but I made some stops in Tohjo and Alola before coming here.”  
  
“Ranger training requires that new recruits spend at least a year in 4 different regions before being approved,” Gardenia adds. “This is her fourth.”  
  
“Not bad,” I say. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”  
  
“All in due time, Mattie,” Aiden responds, flashing another wink. “For now, though, let’s head to Eterna. I gotta fill out some last bit of paperwork, and then I’ll be free to explore the region at my leisure.”  
  
“You can’t do that now?”  
  
“Not how Ranger training works, unfortunately,” Gardenia says. “You work with a League-sponsored Ranger for a couple of months, and once they – and in this case,  _I_  – give you approval, you get to conduct fieldwork on your own.”  
  
“Which, in my case, I’ve done a few times already,” Aiden continues. “Hoenn, Tohjo, and Alola all worked the same way. I think it’s League standard practice.” She gently offloads the metal poles into a pile. “You do it four times, take a test in the spring, and  _bam_! New full-fledged Ranger.”  
  
“And if I remember correctly,” Gardenia says, “the date of the Ranger test coincides nicely with the Gym Challenge Championship.”  
  
“Uh … come again?” I ask.  
  
“Big tournament at the end of spring,” Gardenia continues. “Anyone who has all 8 badges can participate. You’re doing the Gym Challenge, so I thought I’d let you know about the opportunity.”  
  
“Uh …”  
  
{Yes,} I see Yossele sign. {I want to do this.} He points to Jonnie and Raiju, who are excitedly flitting in the air and pawing the ground, respectively. {They seem interested as well. I think it should be fun.}  
  
“Huh.” I laugh a bit. “Well, they’re interested.”  
  
“And hey, you’ve got more than enough time,” Aiden remarks. “You’ve got a badge already, and it’s still early fall –”  
  
“And it’s  _way too cold for early fall_!” I exclaim.  
  
“– I agree, but the  _point_  is, that if you keep this sort of pace going, we might be in the same place at the same time.”  
  
“Wait. Aiden, are you suggesting –”  
  
“LET’S not get ahead of ourselves,” Gardenia interjects. “ _You_  still need to fill out your paperwork,” she says, pointing to Aiden, “and  _you_ ,” pointing at me, “need to beat me in a Gym battle. And we can’t do that without getting to Eterna, so let’s get moving.”  
  
I’m a little taken aback, and I think Aiden is too. We give each other a bit of a glance. Aiden shrugs, clearly unsure of why Gardenia is acting like this. I think I have a bit of a better idea, though.  _Now’s as good a time as any to bring up, I guess._  I walk up to Gardenia, who’s gathering supplies into a pack.  
  
“Okay, Gardenia, spill,” I say. “Ever since Fuego, you’ve been giving me weird looks and have been kinda distant. What’s going on?”  
  
She sighs. “I … I can’t really show you here,” she replies, “but … let’s just say I have a bit of … history with quote-unquote ‘evil teams’, and when you, sorta, revealed yourself at Fuego …” She stops. “You know what, I’m not good at explaining it. I need to show you.”  
  
“O … kay,” I say, grabbing my pack from Yossele’s outstretched arm. “I’m guessing it’s bad, but … how  _bad_  is bad?”  
  
“Just…let me show you.”  
  


\-----------------------------

  
~gasp~ “Oh no, I love him!”  
  
Gardenia’s apartment is in the middle of Eterna, close to her beautifully decorated Gym. We dropped Aiden off at the Gym before coming here. Compared to that building, which even on the outside looks very flowery and busy, this apartment seems downright spartan. Granted, there is still some pretty flower wallpaper but other than that, everything seems relatively standard.  
  
Except, of course, for the adorable little stunky observing us from a little cushion bed by the couch.  
  
“Oh, can I pet him?” I ask. “I wanna pet him so bad, he’s so  _cute_!”  
  
“Well, uh …” Gardenia hesitates. “Here’s the thing, Mattie. Trey’s … a little skittish. Not super comfortable around people.”  
  
“How come?”  
  
“Well … he was stolen by a Galactic Grunt from his Trainer and forced to fight for him.”  
  
My stomach drops.  
  
“Oh … oh Arceus.” I feel the words struggling to leave my mouth as I keep stammering. “I, uh … I – oh Arceus, I was – I was gonna make a joke about how, like, weird it was that you had a pokémon that wasn’t a Grass-type, but now I …”  
  
“It’s alright, I get that a lot,” Gardenia says. She walks up to me and locks her eyes with mine. “Mattie, you asked me why I’ve been distant to you ever since Fuego. The truth is, the fact that you still have your Plasma garb on you … disturbs me, I guess. It’s not your fault, it’s just … it reminds me a little too much of some of the former Galactic members I’ve seen since they disbanded five years ago.”  
  
“How so?”  
  
“They … cling to it. They can’t let it go. Like they were –”  
  
“Indoctrinated…” I mutter. “Like they were indoctrinated into the cause.”  
  
“…more like brainwashed, but yeah, like that.”  
  
“And they stole pokémon too,” I stammer. “Just…” I feel a lump in my throat. “Just like us.”  
  
I feel a tap on my leg. Two fingers. {Mattie, you did not do this,} Yossele signs.  
  
“I know I didn’t, but someone  _stole_  him,” I respond.  
  
{I understand, but you did not –}  
  
“Yossele, you don’t get it,” I interrupt. “Galactic stole pokémon.  _Plasma_  stole pokémon. Galactic apparently brainwashed people. Plasma  _indoctrinated_  its members.  _Myself included_.”  
  
And all of a sudden I can’t bear to look at Yossele and feel like I wanna vomit and need to get out of –  
  
I feel another nudge at my leg. This one, however, is furry. I look down at my side, and Trey the stunky is poking at my leg with his snout. He gives a little chirp and paws at me. He’s staring at me with big, black eyes.  
  
“Hey, buddy,” I whisper. “Do you … do you want me to pet you?”  
  
He doesn’t respond – I mean, of course he doesn’t – but he leans closer in. I gingerly reach down and start scratching behind his little ears. I feel him stiffen at my touch at first, but then he relaxes.  
  
He smells pretty bad.  
  
“Well, uh … gotta say, I did  _not_  expect him to warm up to you so quickly,” Gardenia says. “He’s only ever responded well to me and Roark.”  
  
“Where … where did you find him?”  
  
“The Grunt who stole him was arrested when the organization fell. He worked at the Galactic Outpost that had cropped up here. When the police started arresting people, they found him in the Outpost. No one would take him, so they entrusted him to me. He’s been living here ever since while we’ve been trying to find his owner.”  
  
 _Arceus dammit, that’s a little close to home._  “Did you ever find them?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, he’s coming at the end of the week to pick him up.”  
  
I nod, still feeling a bit like garbage. I look at Yossele, who gives me a bit of a quizzical look.  _Yeah, I’m not sure he totally gets it. It’d be tough to explain, though, so I won’t right now._  
  
“Sorry for the weird looks the last couple of days,” Gardenia continues. “It’s just that Eterna was really badly affected by Galactic, so whenever I see something that reminds of them, I get a little…”  
  
“Nah, I get it,” I say. “It’s not every day that you have to interact with a former member of a criminal organization, huh?”  
  
This elicits the first real chuckle I’ve heard from Gardenia. “I mean, you’re not actually a criminal, so you’re fine.” Her face grows more serious again, but that weird look is gone, replaced with a much warmer one. “However, I actually deal with former gang members more often than you think.”  
  
“How so?”  
  
“Well…why don’t I show you?”  
  


\-----------------------------

  
“Why … why are there spikes on the building?”  
  
“Intimidation, I guess?”  
  
“And the flying saucer bit?”  
  
“Maybe, uh…vanity? Space theme? I dunno, it’s weird.”  
  
“I’m with ya there.”  
  
We’re staring at a very strange-looking blue building in the northwest part of town. There’s a mini park surrounding the building, but that’s not what’s weird about it.  
  
What’s weird is that all the plants in the park are either warped, twisted, or dead. And that’s not even mentioning the weird-looking spikes jutting out of the sides of the building, or the still-rotating yellow ring surrounding a steel-grey disk at the top that looks like a UFO.  
  
This, I’m told, was the Eterna Galactic Outpost. However, the residents of Eterna have a different name for it,  
  
“Well, welcome to the Sludge Nest,” Gardenia says. “While Galactic was active, you couldn’t find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy west of Mount Coronet.” She chuckles a bit at that. “Nowadays it’s mostly-known for its penchant for not letting anything grow there.”  
  
“Yeah, what’s with that?” I ask.  
  
“Well, when Galactic was about to fold, some Grunt here had the bright idea to destroy all the evidence of wrongdoing in the building. Problem was, there was some poisonous material that they were housing here, and it leaked into the soil. It’s safe for humans and pokémon to enter the building now, but plants can’t grow here anymore.”  
  
“Geez … and it’s right next to Eterna Forest, too.”  
  
“Yeah, we were lucky that the contamination didn’t reach the forest. All told, this was the only real bit of damage.”  
  
“Okay.” There’s still something bugging me, though. “So … did you bring me here just to show me how evil gangs have the power to damage things? ‘Cause, like, I know that already, I see it every day.”  
  
“Not exactly,” Gardenia responds. “Yeah, the Sludge Nest serves as a reminder, but it’s more than that know.” She checks her watch. “Any second now.”  
  
As if on cue, two women leave the building, coming towards us. One is older and dressed more formally, with a snappy dress, glasses, and nice lipstick. The other one…  
  
Has teal-dyed hair that’s grown out. Clearly for a while. She’s withdrawn, her shoulders drawn inwards, like she’s ashamed of something, but doesn’t know whether to hide or not. There are some tear stains in her makeup.  
  
 _I looked like that._  
  
She’s whispering with the older woman. They shake hands, and the younger woman walks away. The older woman, however, notices Gardenia and waves us over.  
  
“Another successful meeting, I take it?” Gardenia asks.  
  
“I hope so,” the woman says. “This was the first time Melanie had opened up this much in one of our sessions, so I’d say that’s progress.”  
  
“Always good to hear.” Gardenia gestures to the woman. “Mattie, this is Mercedes Patriz. She’s a well-known criminal psychologist from the area. For the last year or so, she’s been volunteering her spare time here working with former Galactic members. Help them rehabilitate, encourage them to move past the horrible process they endured, all that.”  
  
 _You’re doing this for a reason, aren’t you?_  “Um, hi, Ms. Patriz, I’m –”  
  
“Mathilda Kasdan,” Mercedes interjected, reaching out a hand to shake. “Gardenia’s told me a little bit about you. She informed me –”  
  
 _Oh Arceus, you did not just fucking rat me out, did you?_  
  
“– that you were interested in learning a little bit about the process.  From what she’s mentioned, you knew some people who were heavily involved with the Plasma cult and were suffering because of it. We have a bit of a shared experience with this sort of scenario, what with Galactic and Plasma both having cult-like tendencies, so I was wondering if you’d be interested in sharing?”  
  
 _...huh.  That’s … not what I expected to hear.  Okay._  
  
“If … if it’s alright, I’d like to think about it for a bit before I give you an answer,” I say after a pause.  “It’s … it’s a sensitive subject, y’know?”  
  
“Not a problem,” Mercedes replies, “I understand completely.  Let me give you my number so you can get in contact with me whenever you’d like.”  She reaches for her PokéGear, and we quickly swap numbers. After a quick wave goodbye, she walks off towards downtown Eterna.  
  
“Not gonna lie, that was … a little bit surreal,” I say to Gardenia.  “Why did you take me here, especially since that woman doesn’t know that … y’know?”  
  
“Being honest … I’m not entirely sure myself,” she responds.  “Maybe it was to show you that you’re not the only one who’s still attached to this sort of stuff.  Like, the land here is still scarred by Galactic’s machinations. Pretty sure Iccirus is, too. Or, maybe it was because you seemed a little like some of the people who Mercedes works with – what with keeping the Plasma hoodie as a keepsake and such – and maybe I thought you might, y’know, take her up on the offer to talk.”  
  
“And what?  Tell her, ‘Hey, I used to be in Plasma, and I might still might be fucking brainwashed?’  Not a great idea, at least in my head.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess so.”  Gardenia shrugs. “I dunno, perhaps this is a little bit out of my area of expertise, but maybe…”  She pauses, really mulling over what her next words will be. “Maybe you’d, like … consent to be a patient.  Like, over the phone while you travel, or something. Work through some of the stuff you’re still holding onto.”  
  
I want to be angry.  I  _really_  want to be angry.   _Like, who does she think she is, telling me what’s best for me?  She’s not me! She’s not in my head, she doesn’t know what I’m thinking!  
_  
And yet.  
  
“I’ll uh … I’ll think about it,” I mutter.  “For now, I need to find a hotel and get our battle set up.  That alright?”  
  
Gardenia nods.  “Take your time, neither of us are in any rush.”  She smiles. “Would you be alright with Aiden acting as your Gym Trainer tomorrow?  It’d give you more of a chance to get to know her.”  
  
I feel a smile spreading on my face as well.  “I’d be alright with that, yeah.”  
  
“Okay.”  She walks up and places a hand on my shoulder.  “I know this is a lot. And, yeah, what I just said probably seems super insensitive and callous.  But I want you to know that I’m doing this, and telling you this, because I don’t think you’re a bad person, and I want to help.  It’s what Rangers do.”  
  
I tap her arm.  “Thanks. Means a lot.”  I gently brush her arm off of me.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
  


\------------------------

  
I don’t sleep well that night.


End file.
